S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $592.71.

SPGI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:SPGI opened at $515.88 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a twelve month low of $419.49 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $158.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Qtron Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 32.0% during the first quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 5,056 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,739,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,680,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 11,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,898,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Makena Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 88.6% during the 1st quarter. Makena Capital Management LLC now owns 35,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,855,000 after buying an additional 16,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.

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