Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Short Interest Down 16.3% in December

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,550,000 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the November 30th total of 7,830,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Shift4 Payments Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Shift4 Payments stock traded down $2.40 on Friday, reaching $104.70. 718,755 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,477,184. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 2.98. Shift4 Payments has a 52 week low of $55.87 and a 52 week high of $116.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.07, for a total value of $147,764.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,748,585.23. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jordan Frankel sold 5,000 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.01, for a total value of $495,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 222,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,991,309.12. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,462 shares of company stock worth $1,211,364. Corporate insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 2.6% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 11,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Shift4 Payments by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FOUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Shift4 Payments from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens increased their price target on Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $106.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.40.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.