Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GPN. UBS Group upped their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Global Payments from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $150.00.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN opened at $111.34 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.72. The stock has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 0.71 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 12 month low of $95.12 and a 12 month high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Global Payments will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 19.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Global Payments by 1.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Global Payments by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Global Payments by 5.1% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during 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.