StockNews.com Upgrades S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $587.92.

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S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $2.55 on Wednesday, hitting $539.77. 973,325 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. S&P Global has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $507.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $507.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.34 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is 32.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $328,632,000 after purchasing an additional 225,370 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management raised its position in S&P Global by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,134,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $27,170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

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.