S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $571.31.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in S&P Global by 107.2% in the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 5,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,236,000. GDS Wealth Management lifted its position in S&P Global by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 30,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,419,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $514.46 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $533.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $509.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $482.51. The firm has a market cap of $159.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that S&P Global will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.