5 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Buy Now

In this article, we discuss 5 best marine shipping stocks to buy now. If you want to see our detailed analysis of the marine shipping industry, head directly to 10 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Buy Now.

5. Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) owns and leases containerships to shipping companies through fixed-rate charters. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. It is one of the best marine shipping companies to invest in. On May 10, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) reported a Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $2.12 and a revenue of $159.29 million, beating Wall Street estimates by $0.20 and $7.54 million, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 17 hedge funds were bullish on Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL), compared to 15 funds in the prior quarter. David Salanic’s Whitefort Capital is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with approximately 2 million shares worth $37 million.

Here is what Massif Capital has to say about Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“We initiated a 6% position in GSL, bringing total maritime transit exposure up to ~9% of the portfolio when combined with our 3% SBLK position. GSL is a containership owner, leasing ships to container companies (such as Maersk) at fixed rates. As owners, they own and manage the vessels (responsible for crews, maintenance, insurance) but do not have fuel costs. GSL focuses on mid-size to smaller containerships, which serve the faster-growing inter-regional trade routes that represent ~70% of global containerized trade volume.

As they own its containers, their business is both pro-cyclical (chartered tonnages used as growth platform by liner shipping companies) and counter-cyclical (with the sale and leaseback structures used by liner companies as a balance sheet management tool). GSL has a track record that includes both organic acquisitions and a strategic combination in Q4 2018 that doubled the size of the fleet.

We like GSL because they do not have as much operational leverage as a company like ZIM (which leases on both sides of the trade), and they sign 2–5-year contracts. Liners have been eager to secure that capacity for extended durations spanning multiple years, significantly longer than has been the case historically and well-aligned with GSL’s strategic preference to lock in value over time and provide forward visibility on cash flows…” (Click here to see the full text)