StockNews.com Downgrades Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) to Hold

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 target price on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.92.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $109.06 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.82. The company has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $95.12 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 2,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 3,495 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 385,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,483,000 after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $893,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.