S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $413.28, but opened at $428.04. S&P Global shares last traded at $410.22, with a volume of 550,398 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.33. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SPGI. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $462.60.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tenon Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $395,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.5% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% during the first quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 22,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 9.7% during the first quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $423.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $417.41. The firm has a market cap of $133.14 billion, a PE ratio of 46.61, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.