Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

FOUR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $48.00 price target on Shift4 Payments in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $63.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $74.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shift4 Payments currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.86.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

Shares of FOUR stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,625,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.97. Shift4 Payments has a one year low of $34.56 and a one year high of $75.35.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $652.39 million. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.20%. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.050-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FOUR. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 530.2% in the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 86,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 72,422 shares during the last quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 1,833,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,196,000 after acquiring an additional 82,663 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Shift4 Payments by 19,626.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 30,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 30,225 shares during the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 2nd quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Shift4 Payments by 55.5% during the 1st quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 445,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,490,000 after acquiring an additional 159,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Shift4 Payments News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shift4 reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.49, above the roughly $1.36 consensus, while revenue grew 10% year over year. The company also raised its 2026 EPS outlook to $5.05–$5.15, above the cited $4.98 consensus. Earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback, which could support per-share results and signal confidence in the business. Buyback announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Shift4 outlined mid- to high-single-digit organic growth for 2027 and a fourth-quarter gross revenue less network fees outlook of $625 million–$640 million. Investors will weigh that growth outlook against the company’s longer-term expectations. Growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat did not prevent a sharp selloff: reports said third-quarter sales missed expectations, raising concern about growth and overshadowing stronger EPS and guidance. Sales and stock reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets on FOUR, including RBC ($67 to $49), Wells Fargo ($59 to $46), Susquehanna ($63 to $56), and B. Riley ($94 to $77). Their ratings remained positive or bullish, but the broad reductions suggest more cautious assumptions about upside. RBC rating

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE: FOUR) is a payment technology company that provides integrated commerce solutions for businesses and organizations. Its platform supports payment acceptance across in-person, online and mobile channels, combining payment processing with point-of-sale, commerce management and reporting tools.

The company serves merchants and enterprises in industries including restaurants, hospitality, hotels, sports and entertainment venues, gaming, retail and e-commerce. Its offerings include payment gateways, point-of-sale systems, mobile and contactless payment capabilities, fraud prevention, chargeback management and business analytics.