S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Research Coverage Started at Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $600.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $575.14.

S&P Global Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE SPGI opened at $491.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $152.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. S&P Global has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $533.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $507.05 and its 200-day moving average is $493.12.

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

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 365,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,948,000 after buying an additional 15,456 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 359,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,762,000 after purchasing an additional 43,864 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,170,000. American Trust increased its holdings in S&P Global by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 2,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in S&P Global by 0.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 27,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,332,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.