Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.92.

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Global Payments from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Global Payments from $163.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Global Payments Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:GPN opened at $105.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.76 and a 200-day moving average of $114.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 54.5% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Company Profile

Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services.