Wall Street Zen Upgrades Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) to Strong-Buy

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GLP. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on 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 Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Global Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Global Partners Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of GLP opened at $49.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.38. Global Partners has a twelve month low of $39.58 and a twelve month high of $56.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 24.23% and a net margin of 0.77%.The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Global Partners will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Partners

In related news, COO Mark Romaine sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 151,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,184,750.51. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,063 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,471 in the last quarter. 41.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Global Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Partners in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.12% of the company’s stock.

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.