Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $84.12, but opened at $75.26. Global Payments shares last traded at $70.57, with a volume of 2,945,466 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GPN shares. Stephens lowered Global Payments from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Global Payments from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Global Payments in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Global Payments from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.36.

Global Payments Trading Up 5.8 %

The business's 50-day moving average price is $94.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.76. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.14). Global Payments had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. Equities analysts expect that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Global Payments's payout ratio is 16.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPN. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Global Payments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Global Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.