Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

GPN has been the topic of several other research reports. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Global Payments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on Global Payments from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Global Payments from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $151.92.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN stock opened at $124.57 on Wednesday. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $95.12 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.96.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.01. Global Payments had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 18.8% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Global Payments by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Global Payments by 3.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Global Payments by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Global Payments by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Global Payments Company Profile

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.