S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $413.28, but opened at $428.04. S&P Global shares last traded at $410.22, with a volume of 550,398 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.33. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its position in S&P Global by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.1 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $423.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.41. The stock has a market cap of $133.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.