MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Global Net Lease, Inc. $GNL

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GNL) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 118,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,692 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Global Net Lease were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Net Lease in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Net Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Global Net Lease in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Global Net Lease in the first quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Net Lease in the first quarter worth approximately $85,000. 61.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Net Lease Price Performance

NYSE:GNL opened at $8.04 on Friday. Global Net Lease, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.51 and a 52 week high of $9.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.59.

Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. Global Net Lease had a negative return on equity of 9.71% and a negative net margin of 43.75%.The company had revenue of $124.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.38 million. Equities analysts expect that Global Net Lease, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Global Net Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. Global Net Lease’s payout ratio is currently -52.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GNL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Global Net Lease from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Global Net Lease from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. JMP Securities reiterated 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. Finally, Colliers Securities upgraded Global Net Lease from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Net Lease currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicholas S. Schorsch sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $2,199,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,607,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,722,124.72. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward M. Jr. Weil sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.61, for a total value of $1,141,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 584,053 shares in the company, valued at $4,444,643.33. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,553,000 shares of company stock worth $56,115,790 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Global Net Lease 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.