Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares saw unusually strong trading volume — about 55,864 shares traded (a 25% jump from the prior session) while the stock traded around $46.26 and was up roughly 1.4% intraday.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $46.00, though some firms (e.g., Wall Street Zen) have recently upgraded the stock.
• Global Partners raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 (annualized $3.04) for a 6.5% yield

Shares of Global Partners LP (NYSE:GLP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 55,864 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session's volume of 44,714 shares.The stock last traded at $46.2570 and had previously closed at $46.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GLP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Global Partners in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Global Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Global Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Global Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.00.

Global Partners Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.10. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74.

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

Global Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Global Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Global Partners's payout ratio is 144.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Partners news, COO Mark Romaine sold 2,020 shares of Global Partners stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $97,343.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 141,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,824,137.71. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,063 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,471. Company insiders own 41.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLP. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Global Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $862,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Global Partners by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 137,822 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $7,267,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Global Partners by 89.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,245 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Global Partners by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,094 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Global Partners by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 43,592 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 7,285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.12% of the company's stock.

Global Partners Company Profile

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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