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

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a report on Friday, October 20th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Friday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.85.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $109.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $28.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $92.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Global Payments

In other news, insider David Lawrence Green sold 17,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total value of $2,016,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,711,059.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Joshua J. Whipple sold 37,096 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.28, for a total transaction of $4,721,578.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,062,180.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David Lawrence Green sold 17,920 shares of Global Payments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.53, for a total transaction of $2,016,537.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,711,059.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wade G W & Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Global Payments by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 23,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3,176 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its stake in Global Payments by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 41,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 14,333 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is 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 three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Consumer 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.