Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Lowered to "Strong Sell" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Shift4 Payments to “Strong Sell” from “Hold,” despite most analysts remaining positive; the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $60.24.
• Shift4 shares opened at $41.11, well below the 12-month high of $88.51, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.25 billion and a high P/E ratio of 68.52.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.32 versus $1.26 expected and revenue of $1.29 billion, up 50.9% year over year; institutional investors own 98.87% of outstanding shares.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

FOUR has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore set a $45.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Shift4 Payments from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Shift4 Payments from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $120.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Shift4 Payments from $74.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.24.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

NYSE FOUR opened at $41.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. Shift4 Payments has a 12-month low of $34.56 and a 12-month high of $88.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 68.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.93 and its 200-day moving average is $45.76.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $615.65 million. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm's revenue was up 50.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Shift4 Payments will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Summer Road LLC acquired a new position in Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company's stock.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company's platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company's core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.

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