Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Stock Rating Lowered by Freedom Capital

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $104.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $77.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.74.

Shift4 Payments Trading Down 9.0%

NYSE:FOUR opened at $44.05 on Friday. Shift4 Payments has a 52 week low of $43.80 and a 52 week high of $108.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.63.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 38.24% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company’s revenue was up 50.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Shift4 Payments

In other news, Director Nancy Disman sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $347,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 130,420 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,190. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total transaction of $828,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 273,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,877,572. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 25.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOUR. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 66.9% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 178,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,802,000 after purchasing an additional 71,489 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in Shift4 Payments by 71.3% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 584,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,219,000 after buying an additional 243,161 shares in the last quarter. Maestria Partners LLC increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Maestria Partners LLC now owns 372,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,826,000 after acquiring an additional 99,723 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,814,000. Finally, Jackson Square Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,735,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus — Shift4 reported $1.60 EPS vs. ~$1.56 expected, demonstrating underlying earnings strength. MarketBeat Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose year‑over‑year (~+50.6% to $610M), indicating continued top‑line expansion despite other issues. Yahoo: Q4 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for detail on management’s commentary and segmentation of results; useful for investors digging into drivers. Seeking Alpha Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter snapshot and analyst commentary pieces summarize key metrics (ROE, margins, segment notes) if you want a quick read. WTOP Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance disappointed — management set EPS of $5.50–$5.70 (roughly flat to slightly below consensus) and revenue guidance of $2.5–$2.6B, materially below the ~$3.9B street expectation; this guidance shortfall is the primary negative catalyst. Seeking Alpha: Guidance Miss / 52‑Week Low
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show profits plunged (~65% in the headline coverage) and the stock hit multi‑year/52‑week lows, signaling investor concern on margins and near‑term profitability. Yahoo: Profits Plunge
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts quickly cut targets—Wells Fargo lowered its target to $55 (equal weight) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed to $60 (market perform)—which can reinforce selling pressure. Benzinga: Wells Fargo Cut Benzinga: KBW Cut

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.