Global Payments Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GPN)

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 9,654 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 134% compared to the average daily volume of 4,118 call options.

Global Payments Stock Up 7.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPN opened at $115.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.58 and its 200 day moving average is $103.83. Global Payments has a 12-month low of $91.60 and a 12-month high of $141.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.03. Global Payments had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Global Payments will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Global Payments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Payments

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Global Payments by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Global Payments in the first quarter worth about $399,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in Global Payments in the first quarter valued at about $222,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Global Payments by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 159,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,379,000 after acquiring an additional 19,381 shares during the period. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Global Payments by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 152,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,442,000 after purchasing an additional 7,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Global Payments from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Global Payments from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Global Payments from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair downgraded Global Payments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Global Payments from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

About Global Payments

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.