Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) from "hold" to "strong-buy," while Wall Street Zen raised it to "buy," leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $46.00 price target.
• The company missed quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $0.54 versus $0.60 expected and revenue of $4.65 billion versus $6.94 billion expected, with a net margin of 0.53% and ROE of 15.99%.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently (24,063 shares sold, ~$1.15M) including COO Mark Romaine, though insiders still own roughly 41.5% of the company and institutions hold about 38.1%.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GLP. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Global Partners in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Global Partners Price Performance

NYSE GLP opened at $47.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 1.04. Global Partners has a 52 week low of $39.58 and a 52 week high of $56.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $46.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.15.

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The energy company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.94 billion. Global Partners had a net margin of 0.53% and a return on equity of 15.99%. Research analysts predict that Global Partners will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mark Romaine sold 2,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $97,343.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 141,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,824,137.71. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,063 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,471 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 41.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spinnaker Trust grew its position in Global Partners by 6.6% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,850 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC grew its position in Global Partners by 3.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Global Partners by 4.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,330 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC grew its position in Global Partners by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in Global Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 38.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Global Partners

Global Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership engaged in the wholesale distribution and retail marketing of petroleum products. The company sources refined petroleum products from major refineries and suppliers and transports them through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals and storage facilities. Global Partners focuses on delivering fuel and related services to commercial, industrial and residential customers, positioning itself as a key midstream and downstream energy operator in its core markets.

Through its extensive terminal network in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, Global Partners supplies gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, kerosene, propane and biofuels to a broad customer base.

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