Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.09.

A number of research firms recently commented on GPN. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Global Payments in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Williams Trading set a $75.00 price objective on Global Payments in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Global Payments Stock Performance

Shares of GPN opened at $80.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.87 and a 200 day moving average of $102.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $65.93 and a 12 month high of $120.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Global Payments by 546.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 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.