Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shift4 Payments shares plunged: The stock opened at $39.55 after closing at $44.82 the prior day, and was last trading at $37.69. The article does not identify a specific trigger for the drop.
• Analyst views remain mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with a $56.36 price target; recent firms cut targets, while ratings range from Buy to Sell.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, beating the $1.36 consensus estimate, and revenue of $1.32 billion, above expectations. Revenue rose 10% year over year.

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $44.82, but opened at $39.55. Shift4 Payments shares last traded at $37.69, with a volume of 754,939 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FOUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Shift4 Payments from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Shift4 Payments from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research cut Shift4 Payments from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.36.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $652.39 million. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spyglass Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 4.7% in the second quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 1,833,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,196,000 after buying an additional 82,663 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 27.7% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 847,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,071,000 after purchasing an additional 183,938 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 24.3% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 913,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,058,000 after purchasing an additional 178,734 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 55.5% in the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 445,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,490,000 after purchasing an additional 159,000 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 5.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,645,000 after purchasing an additional 7,214 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.