Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) Stock Price Up 4.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL) rose 4.6% on Tuesday after KeyCorp upgraded the stock from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating. KeyCorp now has a $9.00 price target on the stock. Global Net Lease traded as high as $7.83 and last traded at $7.83. Approximately 438,292 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,773,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.48.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Global Net Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Global Net Lease in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Colliers Securities upgraded shares of Global Net Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.20.

Insider Transactions at Global Net Lease

In related news, insider Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 7,103,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total value of $52,775,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,907,384 shares in the company, valued at $147,911,863.12. This represents a 26.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.61, for a total transaction 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 represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,553,000 shares of company stock valued at $56,115,790 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Net Lease

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Global Net Lease by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,612,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544,719 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Net Lease by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 986,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 25,741 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Global Net Lease by 177.1% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 247,140 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Global Net Lease by 185.8% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Global Net Lease in the 1st quarter valued at about $355,000. 61.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Net Lease Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.53.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. Global Net Lease had a negative net margin of 43.75% and a negative return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $124.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.38 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Global Net Lease Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Global Net Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently -52.78%.

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.