S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $533.05 on Thursday. S&P Global has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The firm has a market cap of $164.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $510.08 and a 200 day moving average of $509.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after purchasing an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,631,568,000 after purchasing an additional 525,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 174,815.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 467,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,274,000 after purchasing an additional 466,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.