Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: 22 analysts give Shift4 Payments a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (12 buys, 9 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of about $79.89.
• Recent results and outlook: Shift4 reported Q EPS of $1.60 (vs. $1.56 est.) and revenue of $1.19B (vs. $1.20B est.), with revenue up 50.6% year‑over‑year and FY2026 EPS guidance of $5.50–$5.70.
• Ownership and insider activity: CEO and a director sold shares in December, while insiders also bought 341,930 shares (~$15.66M) in the last three months; the company is reported to have insiders owning 25.15% and institutional ownership of 98.87%.

Shares of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.8947.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FOUR. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Shift4 Payments from $115.00 to $101.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Shift4 Payments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $104.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $77.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shift4 Payments

In related news, Director Nancy Disman sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $347,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 130,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,190. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $828,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 273,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,877,572. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders purchased 341,930 shares of company stock valued at $15,661,068 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 25.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 410.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 281 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Shift4 Payments by 148.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth $45,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

Shift4 Payments stock opened at $48.99 on Friday. Shift4 Payments has a 12 month low of $43.32 and a 12 month high of $108.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.77 and its 200-day moving average is $70.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.65.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 39.27% and a net margin of 2.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 50.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

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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