Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GPN. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.36.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $97.06 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $91.60 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.70. The firm has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,087.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 154.7% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.