S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

SPGI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.92.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $539.77 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $506.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $506.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.