Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Stock Price

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 36.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $115.00 to $101.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $102.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Shift4 Payments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.74.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

NYSE FOUR opened at $44.05 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $43.80 and a fifty-two week high of $108.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.10 and a 200-day moving average of $71.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.63.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 38.24%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 50.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Shift4 Payments news, Director Nancy Disman sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $347,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 130,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,190. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 273,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,877,572. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 25.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FOUR. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,778,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,869,000 after buying an additional 621,797 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 12.6% during the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 6,665,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,612,000 after buying an additional 745,650 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 2.1% during the third quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 5,071,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,552,000 after acquiring an additional 105,320 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Shift4 Payments by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,643,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,482,000 after acquiring an additional 188,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,056,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,139,000 after acquiring an additional 419,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Shift4 Payments

Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus — Shift4 reported $1.60 EPS vs. ~$1.56 expected, demonstrating underlying earnings strength. MarketBeat Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose year‑over‑year (~+50.6% to $610M), indicating continued top‑line expansion despite other issues. Yahoo: Q4 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for detail on management’s commentary and segmentation of results; useful for investors digging into drivers. Seeking Alpha Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter snapshot and analyst commentary pieces summarize key metrics (ROE, margins, segment notes) if you want a quick read. WTOP Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance disappointed — management set EPS of $5.50–$5.70 (roughly flat to slightly below consensus) and revenue guidance of $2.5–$2.6B, materially below the ~$3.9B street expectation; this guidance shortfall is the primary negative catalyst. Seeking Alpha: Guidance Miss / 52‑Week Low
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show profits plunged (~65% in the headline coverage) and the stock hit multi‑year/52‑week lows, signaling investor concern on margins and near‑term profitability. Yahoo: Profits Plunge
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts quickly cut targets—Wells Fargo lowered its target to $55 (equal weight) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed to $60 (market perform)—which can reinforce selling pressure. Benzinga: Wells Fargo Cut Benzinga: KBW Cut

About Shift4 Payments

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.