Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Now Covered by Evercore ISI

Investment analysts at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “in-line” rating and a $85.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.30% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Global Payments from $156.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.52.

Global Payments Price Performance

GPN opened at $83.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.74. Global Payments has a one year low of $77.83 and a one year high of $127.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Payments will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter worth about $209,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Global Payments by 82.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 130,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,408,000 after acquiring an additional 59,137 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 172.2% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 11,597 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Payments by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Global Payments by 6.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services.