Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) Upgraded to Buy at Colliers Securities

Key Points

• Global Net Lease was upgraded from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating by Colliers Securities, with a target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 60.54% from its previous close.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite experiencing a negative net margin of 40.64%.
• Insider selling occurred recently, with CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil offloading 150,000 shares, while insiders collectively sold 7,653,000 shares in the past three months.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Colliers Securities from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $12.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Colliers Securities' target price suggests a potential upside of 60.54% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on GNL. B. Riley initiated coverage on Global Net Lease in a research 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 set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Global Net Lease in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.25.

Global Net Lease Stock Up 9.1%

Shares of NYSE:GNL traded up $0.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $7.48. 3,258,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,922. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.20. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $6.51 and a fifty-two week high of $9.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.51.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $132.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.40 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Global Net Lease will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Global Net Lease

In other news, CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 584,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,444,643.33. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $2,199,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,607,384 shares in the company, valued at $143,722,124.72. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,653,000 shares of company stock valued at $56,914,790 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Net Lease

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Conversant Capital LLC bought a new position in Global Net Lease during the 1st quarter worth $20,555,000. Taconic Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Global Net Lease during the fourth quarter worth about $7,300,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Global Net Lease in the 1st quarter worth about $6,207,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Global Net Lease by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,269,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,265,000 after buying an additional 656,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Net Lease during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,021,000. Institutional investors own 61.19% of the company's stock.

Global Net Lease Company Profile

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.

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