Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target Cut to $125.00 by Analysts at Stephens

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Stephens from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 22.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.82.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $102.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.82. 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 has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Payments by 194.2% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $621,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240,388 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Global Payments by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,797,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $639,967,000 after purchasing an additional 12,196 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Global Payments by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,957,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,307,000 after purchasing an additional 193,137 shares in the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 18.2% in the second quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,300,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $125,710,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 188.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,857,000 after buying an additional 755,898 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Payments

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.