Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

GPN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Global Payments from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $142.59.

Global Payments Price Performance

Global Payments stock opened at $110.69 on Wednesday. Global Payments has a 52 week low of $91.60 and a 52 week high of $141.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.26. The stock has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is 19.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the 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 owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the first quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Global Payments by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.