Oppenheimer Lowers Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Price Target to $144.00

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN – Get Rating) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $152.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.64% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GPN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Global Payments from $175.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Global Payments from $182.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Global Payments from $190.00 to $174.00 and set a “maintains” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.14.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $130.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 723.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 0.87. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $105.52 and a fifty-two week high of $179.27.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 0.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Lawrence Green sold 16,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $2,114,385.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 97,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,726,121.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in Global Payments by 128.6% during the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.53% of the company’s stock.

About Global Payments

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Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, electronic, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Business and Consumer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization services, settlement and funding services, customer support and help-desk functions, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security services, consolidated billing and statements, and on-line reporting services.