StockNews.com Upgrades Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Buy

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

Global Payments Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $124.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Global Payments has a one year low of $95.12 and a one year high of $141.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.79 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.01. Global Payments had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the third quarter valued at $47,000. 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.