Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $77.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Global Payments traded as low as $66.90 and last traded at $67.22, with a volume of 1250931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.46.

GPN has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Global Payments in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Global Payments from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.36.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Global Payments Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 15.54%. On average, analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Global Payments’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

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.