Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for Global Payments (NYSE:GPN)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $130.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Global Payments from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.0 %

Global Payments stock opened at $110.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In related news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total transaction 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 $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $621,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240,388 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,857,000 after purchasing an additional 755,898 shares during the period. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,029,000. Natixis grew its position in Global Payments by 830.2% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 589,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,795,000 after purchasing an additional 526,143 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Global Payments by 267.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 677,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,602,000 after purchasing an additional 493,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.