Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Short Interest Update

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,230,000 shares, a growth of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 6,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 13.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Shift4 Payments stock traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $83.57. 1,886,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,421. The firm has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. Shift4 Payments has a 1 year low of $55.87 and a 1 year high of $127.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.03 and its 200 day moving average is $100.22.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $405.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 6.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FOUR. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $143.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Benchmark cut Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Shift4 Payments from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, President David Taylor Lauber sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $229,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 264,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,287,295.20. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Nancy Disman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total value of $849,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,622 shares in the company, valued at $15,094,317.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,695 shares of company stock worth $1,097,380 over the last three months. Insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 427,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,894,000 after purchasing an additional 50,664 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Shift4 Payments by 63.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 5,674 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP lifted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 8,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth about $448,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 204.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 17,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.