Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $125.66, but opened at $115.00. Shift4 Payments shares last traded at $106.35, with a volume of 835,574 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FOUR shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $116.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $143.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.90.

Shift4 Payments Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 57.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.72.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.06. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $405.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Shift4 Payments

In related news, insider David Taylor Lauber sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total value of $568,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 210,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,884,216.95. The trade was a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.07, for a total transaction of $147,764.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,089 shares in the company, valued at $3,748,585.23. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,462 shares of company stock worth $1,211,364. Insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FOUR. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Shift4 Payments during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 153.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.