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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on GPN. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded Global Payments from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $111.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $127.50 and a 200-day moving average of $124.82. The firm has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $95.12 and a twelve month high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Global Payments by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 60.5% during the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,261,000 after buying an additional 7,387 shares during the period. Shaker Investments LLC OH bought a new position in Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth $1,815,000. AFS Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Global Payments by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 19,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is 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.