Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.33.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPN. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stephens lowered shares of Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $345,823,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,298,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $929,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,984 shares during the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $147,695,000. Focused Investors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $99,969,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Global Payments by 65.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,982,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $203,047,000 after purchasing an additional 785,539 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.4 %

Global Payments stock opened at $99.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments has a twelve month low of $90.99 and a twelve month high of $133.89. The company has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

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.