S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Raised to $550.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $520.00 to $550.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of S&P Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $555.00 to $553.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.24.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $466.46 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a 1-year low of $381.61 and a 1-year high of $552.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $421.62 and its 200 day moving average is $431.64. The company has a market cap of $135.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 32.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.73 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that S&P Global will post 17.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter valued at approximately $865,892,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter worth $702,911,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 260.3% in the first quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 1,688,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $718,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,990 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the second quarter worth $338,274,000. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the second quarter worth $164,700,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About S&P Global

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) is a global provider of financial information, analytics, benchmarks and credit ratings. Its services are used by investors, corporations, governments and other organizations to evaluate risk, assess markets, support investment decisions and manage business operations.

The company operates through businesses including S&P Global Ratings, which provides credit ratings and related research; S&P Global Market Intelligence, which delivers data, research and analytics on companies, markets and industries; and S&P Global Commodity Insights, which supplies information and analysis for energy and commodity markets.