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

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

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock traded down $2.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $539.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 973,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,243. S&P Global has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company 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’s fifty day moving average is $507.39 and its 200-day moving average is $507.42.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that S&P Global will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 32.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SPGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after acquiring an additional 116,208 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after acquiring an additional 369,598 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,725,084,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,631,568,000 after acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.