Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Key Points

• Shift4 Payments shares gapped down significantly, opening at $93.89 after closing at $102.20, following disappointing earnings results where they missed EPS estimates by $0.10.
• The company's revenue for the quarter was $413.40 million, which was well below the consensus estimate of $967.84 million, though it represented a 28.9% increase year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings reveal a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with 14 buy ratings and a price target averaging at $117.20, despite some reductions in target prices from various firms.

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $102.20, but opened at $93.89. Shift4 Payments shares last traded at $86.22, with a volume of 1,013,987 shares traded.

The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.10). Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 37.05% and a net margin of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $413.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Shift4 Payments's revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FOUR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Shift4 Payments from $113.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shift4 Payments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen Roter Davis sold 2,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.53, for a total value of $260,619.21. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $623,141.76. This represents a 29.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Goldsmith-Grover sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.53, for a total transaction of $94,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $706,517.22. This represents a 11.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,757 shares of company stock valued at $1,258,449 in the last three months. Company insiders own 25.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOUR. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 297 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Shift4 Payments in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $98.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.35. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 1.81.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.