First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 126,541 Shares of Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL - Free Report) by 346.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 126,541 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.07% of Global Net Lease worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Global Net Lease by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Global Net Lease by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 135,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Global Net Lease by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 21,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of Global Net Lease by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 32,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Global Net Lease by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.19% of the company's stock.

Global Net Lease Price Performance

GNL traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.05. 2,125,009 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,526,843. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.56 and a beta of 1.22. Global Net Lease, Inc. has a one year low of $6.51 and a one year high of $9.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.47.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. Global Net Lease had a negative net margin of 21.37% and a negative return on equity of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $132.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.40 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Global Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Global Net Lease Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.44%. Global Net Lease's payout ratio is -100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.95, for a total value of $1,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,629,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,951,130.35. This trade represents a 10.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley began coverage on Global Net Lease in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.00.

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.