Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Given “Positive” Rating at Susquehanna

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN)‘s stock had its “positive” rating reissued by analysts at Susquehanna in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $147.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.83% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Global Payments from $152.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. William Blair upgraded shares of Global Payments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Global Payments from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $172.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.96.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.36. The stock had a trading volume of 167,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,592. The firm has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $91.60 and a 12 month high of $141.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $104.27 and a 200 day moving average of $110.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Global Payments’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, CAO David M. Sheffield sold 1,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.73, for a total value of $166,305.23. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,087.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPN. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Global Payments by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Global Payments by 154.7% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Payments

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.