Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Global Partners LP (NYSE:GLP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $43.09, but opened at $46.00. Global Partners shares last traded at $45.9650, with a volume of 21,328 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Global Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Global Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Global Partners Trading Down 2.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. Global Partners had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 24.23%. Research analysts forecast that Global Partners LP will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. 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 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Global Partners’s payout ratio is presently 85.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLP. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Partners by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 110,208 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Global Partners by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 54,743 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Global Partners by 0.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 55,496 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Partners by 46.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,147 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust raised its holdings in shares of Global Partners by 6.1% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 12,146 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.12% of the company’s stock.

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.