Short Interest in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Rises By 16.6%

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the January 15th total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded down $2.55 on Monday, reaching $539.77. 973,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,243. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $507.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $507.42. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.92.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% in 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 buying an additional 525,347 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 174,815.4% in 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 buying an additional 466,757 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.