S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SPGI. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.85.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $530.93 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $542.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $164.75 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $506.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.36.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 77.1% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.