Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.41.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Global Payments from $126.00 to $122.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Global Payments Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of GPN stock opened at $114.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.75 and a 200 day moving average of $104.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stanley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 18.9% during the second quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 125,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,146,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $203,047,000 after buying an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $562,000. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Global Payments by 20.6% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 172,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,723,000 after buying an additional 29,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $13,184,000. 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.