Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,030,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the May 31st total of 6,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on shares of Global Payments from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Global Payments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Global Payments from $129.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Global Payments from $160.00 to $157.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.68.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPN traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,283,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,336,808. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 1-year low of $91.60 and a 1-year high of $141.77.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.07. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Global Payments

In other news, VP Andrea M. Carter sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.34, for a total transaction of $367,422.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,770.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPN. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Global Payments by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.