Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Stock Rating Raised to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Shift4 Payments from “strong sell” to “hold.” Overall analyst sentiment is also “hold,” with 11 Buy, 11 Hold and one Sell rating and an average price target of $53.86.
• Shift4 reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.49, above the $1.36 consensus, and revenue grew 10% year over year. It also raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to $5.05–$5.15, though reports of a sales miss and subsequent stock selloff raised growth concerns.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback; meanwhile, several analysts reduced their price targets, signaling more cautious expectations for the stock.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FOUR. Weiss Ratings downgraded Shift4 Payments from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Shift4 Payments from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.86.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

NYSE:FOUR opened at $43.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.31 and its 200 day moving average is $45.97. Shift4 Payments has a fifty-two week low of $34.56 and a fifty-two week high of $75.35.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.13. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $652.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.050-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shift4 Payments will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in Shift4 Payments by 24.3% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 913,959 shares of the company's stock worth $33,058,000 after buying an additional 178,734 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 20,563.8% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 11,985 shares of the company's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $411,000. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in Shift4 Payments by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 239.9% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 24,604 shares of the company's stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 17,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Key Shift4 Payments News

Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shift4 reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.49, above the roughly $1.36 consensus, while revenue grew 10% year over year. The company also raised its 2026 EPS outlook to $5.05–$5.15, above the cited $4.98 consensus. Earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback, which could support per-share results and signal confidence in the business. Buyback announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Shift4 outlined mid- to high-single-digit organic growth for 2027 and a fourth-quarter gross revenue less network fees outlook of $625 million–$640 million. Investors will weigh that growth outlook against the company’s longer-term expectations. Growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat did not prevent a sharp selloff: reports said third-quarter sales missed expectations, raising concern about growth and overshadowing stronger EPS and guidance. Sales and stock reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets on FOUR, including RBC ($67 to $49), Wells Fargo ($59 to $46), Susquehanna ($63 to $56), and B. Riley ($94 to $77). Their ratings remained positive or bullish, but the broad reductions suggest more cautious assumptions about upside. RBC rating

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc NYSE: FOUR is a payment technology company that provides integrated commerce solutions for businesses and organizations. Its platform supports payment acceptance across in-person, online and mobile channels, combining payment processing with point-of-sale, commerce management and reporting tools.

The company serves merchants and enterprises in industries including restaurants, hospitality, hotels, sports and entertainment venues, gaming, retail and e-commerce. Its offerings include payment gateways, point-of-sale systems, mobile and contactless payment capabilities, fraud prevention, chargeback management and business analytics.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.