Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.82.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lowered their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Global Payments from $158.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter worth $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Global Payments by 59.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $99.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.48. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The firm has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.84%.

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.