Allianz Asset Management GmbH Boosts Position in Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Global Net Lease, Inc. by 177.1%, acquiring an additional 247,140 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 386,718 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million.
• CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil and insider Nicholas S. Schorsch recently sold a combined total of 450,000 shares of Global Net Lease, indicating a **20.43%** and **1.51%** decrease in their ownership, respectively.
• Global Net Lease reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.23, but had a negative return on equity of **9.23%**.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL - Free Report) by 177.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 247,140 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.17% of Global Net Lease worth $3,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Net Lease in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Global Net Lease in the fourth quarter worth $282,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Net Lease by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 280,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Global Net Lease by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 135,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Global Net Lease by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,269,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,265,000 after acquiring an additional 656,890 shares during the period. 61.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Net Lease Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GNL traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,030,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,828,633. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.51. Global Net Lease, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.51 and a fifty-two week high of $9.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. Global Net Lease had a negative net margin of 40.64% and a negative return on equity of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $132.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.40 million. On average, research analysts expect that Global Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Net Lease Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Global Net Lease's payout ratio is -51.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 19,607,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,722,124.72. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.61, for a total transaction of $1,141,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 584,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,444,643.33. The trade was a 20.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,653,000 shares of company stock worth $56,914,790 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GNL shares. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Global Net Lease in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Global Net Lease in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Net Lease has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.33.

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.