Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has initiated coverage on Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) with a "buy" rating and a price target of $110.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.31%.
• Despite Citigroup's bullish outlook, other analysts have mixed views, with some raising their price targets while others downgraded their ratings, reflecting the stock's average rating of "Hold" among analysts.
• Global Payments reported $3.10 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showing a 1.6% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Equities researchers at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 28.31% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GPN. KeyCorp cut shares of Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered Global Payments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.37.

Global Payments Price Performance

NYSE GPN traded down $1.93 on Wednesday, reaching $85.73. 1,613,202 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,671,510. The stock has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.98. Global Payments has a 12 month low of $65.93 and a 12 month high of $120.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Payments news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $172,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,318. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the second quarter worth about $273,844,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,050,253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $884,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716,156 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth $94,107,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 480.7% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,074,669 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $86,017,000 after acquiring an additional 889,590 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Global Payments by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,001,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $186,107,000 after acquiring an additional 874,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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