Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

GPN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $154.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Global Payments from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Global Payments from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Global Payments Stock Up 0.7 %

Global Payments stock opened at $111.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.72. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $95.12 and a twelve month high of $141.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued 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. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Global Payments will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Global Payments by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 7,387 shares in the last quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $1,815,000. AFS Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Payments by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 19,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,479,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.