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

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GPN. TheStreet raised Global Payments from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Global Payments from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and issued a $129.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $151.92.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.5 %

GPN opened at $127.47 on Wednesday. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $95.12 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $129.64 and a 200-day moving average of $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. The company has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.