Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GPN. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Global Payments Trading Up 0.1 %

GPN opened at $116.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a fifty-two week low of $91.60 and a fifty-two week high of $141.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.94 and its 200 day moving average is $103.43.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Global Payments Company Profile

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.