Short Interest in Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Decreases By 5.3%

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,290,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the October 15th total of 6,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Global Payments in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Global Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPN shares. BNP Paribas raised Global Payments to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Global Payments from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Global Payments from $204.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Global Payments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Global Payments Stock Performance

NYSE GPN opened at $116.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Global Payments has a 52-week low of $91.60 and a 52-week high of $141.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.25 and a 200-day moving average of $103.28.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Global Payments Company Profile

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.