Share Buyback Plan Declared by Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE) Board of Directors

Key Points

• Global Medical REIT's board has approved a $50 million stock repurchase plan, allowing the company to buy back up to 11.1% of its shares, signaling potential undervaluation.
• Analysts have recently downgraded the stock, with Wall Street Zen shifting from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, while the consensus target price is now set at $10.44.
• The company's dividend payout ratio is currently at 857.14%, indicating a high distribution relative to earnings, as they recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE - Get Free Report) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GMRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Global Medical REIT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Global Medical REIT from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.44.

Global Medical REIT Trading Up 1.4%

GMRE traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $6.77. The company had a trading volume of 199,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,868. The firm has a market cap of $452.44 million, a P/E ratio of 96.46, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.15. Global Medical REIT has a 1 year low of $6.05 and a 1 year high of $10.46. The company's fifty day moving average price is $6.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Global Medical REIT had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 7.32%. The company had revenue of $37.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.57 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Global Medical REIT will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Medical REIT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.9%. Global Medical REIT's payout ratio is 857.14%.

Insider Activity at Global Medical REIT

In other Global Medical REIT news, CEO Mark Okey Decker, Jr. acquired 102,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.52 per share, with a total value of $669,395.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 102,668 shares in the company, valued at $669,395.36. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 8.50% of the company's stock.

About Global Medical REIT

Global Medical REIT Inc (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.