Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives $134.33 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.33.

Several analysts have issued reports on GPN shares. Stephens downgraded shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,686,000 after acquiring an additional 22,920 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,548,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,503,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $303,000. Finally, Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $3,050,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $98.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $136.36. The company has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.31 and its 200-day moving average is $107.55.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

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.