Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $103.3684.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Global Payments from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Global Payments in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Global Payments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st.

Global Payments Stock Down 1.3%

Global Payments stock opened at $77.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $65.93 and a twelve month high of $120.00.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.Global Payments’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Global Payments

In other news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 242.2% during the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 546.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other 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.