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

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on FOUR. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $127.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. DA Davidson set a $104.00 price target on Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Shift4 Payments from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:FOUR opened at $59.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.63. Shift4 Payments has a 12-month low of $52.65 and a 12-month high of $127.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 5.02%.Shift4 Payments’s revenue was up 61.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 410.9% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 148.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 282.2% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

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.