Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.40.

FOUR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Shift4 Payments from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Shift4 Payments from $102.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd.

Shift4 Payments Stock Down 2.2%

Shift4 Payments stock opened at $64.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.66. Shift4 Payments has a 1-year low of $61.23 and a 1-year high of $127.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 40.19%. Shift4 Payments’s quarterly revenue was up 61.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $102,817.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 54,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,913,624. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 12,000 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $828,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 273,588 shares in the company, valued at $18,877,572. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,278,317 over the last ninety days. 25.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOUR. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 410.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 281 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Shift4 Payments by 148.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 282.2% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.