Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) Short Interest Up 10.0% in November

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,920,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the October 31st total of 6,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GPN shares. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Global Payments in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Global Payments from $145.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens dropped their price target on Global Payments from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Global Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Payments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.41.

Global Payments Price Performance

Shares of GPN traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $118.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,602,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,232. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors 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 yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Global Payments’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Institutional Trading of Global Payments

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Global Payments in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Payments in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Global Payments during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 59.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.