Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL) Stake Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 986,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,741 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Global Net Lease worth $7,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Net Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Global Net Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Global Net Lease during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Global Net Lease by 363.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 4,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Global Net Lease by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 6,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 3,624 shares during the last quarter. 61.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Global Net Lease in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Global Net Lease in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.33.

Global Net Lease Price Performance

Shares of GNL stock opened at $7.29 on Wednesday. Global Net Lease, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.51 and a 1 year high of $9.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.64 and its 200-day moving average is $7.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $132.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.40 million. Global Net Lease had a negative net margin of 40.64% and a negative return on equity of 9.23%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Net Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. Global Net Lease’s dividend payout ratio is -51.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Net Lease

In other news, CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil sold 150,000 shares of Global Net Lease stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.61, for a total value of $1,141,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 584,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,444,643.33. This trade represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 300,000 shares of Global Net Lease stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $2,199,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,607,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,722,124.72. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,653,000 shares of company stock valued at $56,914,790 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Global Net Lease

Global Net Lease, Inc (NYSE: GNL) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE. The firm focused on acquiring a diversified global portfolio of commercial properties, with an emphasis on sale-leaseback transactions involving single tenant, mission critical income producing net-leased assets across the United States, Western and Northern Europe.