Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.52.

GPN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Global Payments from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE:GPN opened at $85.02 on Tuesday. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $77.83 and a 52-week high of $127.66. The company has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.60.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

About Global Payments

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.