Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Global Partners LP (NYSE:GLP) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 139,198 shares traded hands 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 Analyst Weigh In

GLP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Global Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Global Partners Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.98 billion. Research analysts expect that Global Partners LP will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from Global Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Global Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 85.00%.

Insider Transactions at Global Partners

In other 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 transaction of $355,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,063 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,471. Corporate insiders own 41.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Global Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $862,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Partners by 89.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,245 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Global Partners during the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, Lee Financial Co bought a new position in shares of Global Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $902,000. 38.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.