Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Trading Up 8.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shift4 Payments shares rose 8.5% to about $47.64, though trading volume was 81% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: nine analysts rate the stock Buy, 12 Hold and one Sell, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $58.10.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.32 EPS versus $1.26 expected, while revenue increased 50.9% year over year to $1.29 billion. However, its valuation remains elevated at a P/E ratio of 76.55, and institutional investors own 98.87% of shares.

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) shares were up 8.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.98 and last traded at $47.6380. 374,173 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,981,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FOUR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $74.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on Shift4 Payments in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Shift4 Payments from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.10.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.40.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 2.20%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $615.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Shift4 Payments's revenue for the quarter was up 50.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FOUR. Marex Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 3,487 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Shift4 Payments by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Shift4 Payments by 100.0% in the 1st 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 period. Glenmede Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 4,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source