Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on GLP. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Global Partners Trading Down 0.8%

GLP opened at $49.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.38. Global Partners has a 1-year low of $39.58 and a 1-year high of $56.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $1.52. Global Partners had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 24.23%. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. Analysts expect that Global Partners will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Global Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Global Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.00%.

Insider Activity at Global Partners

In other news, COO Mark Romaine sold 2,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $97,343.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 141,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,824,137.71. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,063 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,471 over the last three months. 41.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spinnaker Trust grew its position in Global Partners by 6.6% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,850 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its position in Global Partners by 3.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Global Partners by 0.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 55,496 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC boosted its position in Global Partners by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Global Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 38.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Partners

Global Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership engaged in the wholesale distribution and retail marketing of petroleum products. The company sources refined petroleum products from major refineries and suppliers and transports them through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals and storage facilities. Global Partners focuses on delivering fuel and related services to commercial, industrial and residential customers, positioning itself as a key midstream and downstream energy operator in its core markets.

Through its extensive terminal network in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, Global Partners supplies gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, kerosene, propane and biofuels to a broad customer base.