Madagascar
If you are familiar with the DreamWorks animated movie, then you probably have heard one of the songs. The animals escape from a Zoo and go aboard an ocean liner. They have spent their lives in a New York zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar. They then must adjust to living in the wild. A key character is Marty, the bored and dejected zebra of the famous Central Park Zoo. He escapes his prison on the night of his tenth birthday celebration. The song that comes to mind when I think of this film is “Move It Move It.” That song is a clever way to think about the global economy. Of course, moving product is big business, and there is a lot of competition to move stuff.
Global Ship Lease, Inc. is International
GSL is a micro-cap stock, so it might not be appropriate for risk-averse investors. Global Ship Lease, Inc. owns and charters containerships of various sizes under fixed-rate charters to container shipping companies. As of March 10, 2022, it owned 65 mid-sized and smaller containerships with an aggregate capacity of 342,348 twenty-foot equivalent units. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
When it comes to the transportation industry, we have about $75,000 invested. Of that total, $33,000 is invested in GSL. About $21,400 is in R (Ryder System, Inc.). The number three position is ZIM (ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.) at about $6,000. ZIM is a company based is Israel. GRIN is in Singapore, and R is in the USA.
Why I Focus on GSL
I believe GSL is likely to prosper as supply chain issues still exist. Moving goods from remote places on this tiny planet is still a huge task. Bear in mind, however, that if a global war broke out, then shipping anything via the oceans of the world would become even more risky. However, I wanted my readers to be aware of the dividend increase. A 50% dividend increase is highly unusual. Most of the time I seek dividend growth stocks that have dividend growth of about 5-10% per year.
Here are some pieces of the puzzle to consider from Seeking Alpha and Fidelity Investments.
Caution!
Don’t mimic what I do. Bear in mind that our portfolio is highly diversified and that the industrial sector is a smaller allocation in our total mix. We focus more on the Financial, Healthcare, and Technology sectors. I also have larger investments in REITs and BDCs. However, each of our six grandchildren own shares of GSL in their UTMA accounts.
Full Disclosure
Cindie and I own 1,500 shares of GSL as a long-term investment. However, I do sometimes trade covered call options on the shares. We also own 600 shares of PANL, 100 shares of GRIN, 200 shares of SBLK, 300 shares of R, 100 of GRIM, and 100 of EDRY. EDRY does not pay a dividend.
Know Your Flocks & Herds 