Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Global Partners LP (NYSE:GLP) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 139,198 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 195% from the previous session’s volume of 47,108 shares.The stock last traded at $49.6150 and had previously closed at $48.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GLP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Global Partners Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.38. The company 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, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Global Partners LP will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This is a boost from Global Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Global Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Partners

In related news, COO Mark Romaine sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.39, for a total value of $355,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 151,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,184,750.51. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLP. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Partners in the first quarter valued at $862,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Global Partners by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,822 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Global Partners by 89.1% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,245 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Global Partners during the third quarter worth $120,000. Finally, Lee Financial Co bought a new position in Global Partners during the third quarter worth $902,000. 38.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Partners Company Profile

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.