S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $590.86.

SPGI has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock opened at $502.33 on Tuesday. S&P Global has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $515.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $510.14. The company has a market capitalization of $157.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About S&P Global

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.