Global Ship Lease (GSL) Competitors

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) and Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Does the media refer more to SBLK or GSL?

In the previous week, Star Bulk Carriers had 1 more articles in the media than Global Ship Lease. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Star Bulk Carriers and 4 mentions for Global Ship Lease. Star Bulk Carriers' average media sentiment score of 0.57 beat Global Ship Lease's score of 0.56 indicating that Star Bulk Carriers is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Star Bulk Carriers	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Global Ship Lease	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer SBLK or GSL?

Star Bulk Carriers presently has a consensus target price of $22.05, suggesting a potential upside of 20.86%. Global Ship Lease has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.34%. Given Star Bulk Carriers' higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Star Bulk Carriers is more favorable than Global Ship Lease.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Star Bulk Carriers	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Global Ship Lease	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk & volatility, SBLK or GSL?

Star Bulk Carriers has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Ship Lease has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of SBLK or GSL?

33.9% of Star Bulk Carriers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.1% of Global Ship Lease shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, SBLK or GSL?

Global Ship Lease has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Star Bulk Carriers. Global Ship Lease is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Star Bulk Carriers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Star Bulk Carriers	$1.27B	1.70	$304.65M	$1.98	9.21
Global Ship Lease	$711.05M	1.37	$353.63M	$10.59	2.60

Is SBLK or GSL more profitable?

Global Ship Lease has a net margin of 53.31% compared to Star Bulk Carriers' net margin of 18.62%. Global Ship Lease's return on equity of 25.56% beat Star Bulk Carriers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Star Bulk Carriers	18.62%	8.20%	4.92%
Global Ship Lease	53.31%	25.56%	15.65%

Is SBLK or GSL a better dividend stock?

Star Bulk Carriers pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Global Ship Lease pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. Star Bulk Carriers pays out 10.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Ship Lease pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Global Ship Lease has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Global Ship Lease is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Global Ship Lease beats Star Bulk Carriers on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.