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

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 9,000,000 shares, an increase of 17.3% from the September 15th total of 7,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Shift4 Payments Stock Up 1.2 %

FOUR traded up $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.24. 1,261,278 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,376,360. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Shift4 Payments has a fifty-two week low of $42.91 and a fifty-two week high of $96.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.76. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.64.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.09. Shift4 Payments had a return on equity of 24.19% and a net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $320.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Nancy Disman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $1,626,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 182,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,874,566.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jordan Frankel sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total transaction of $1,032,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 228,021 shares in the company, valued at $18,827,693.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nancy Disman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total value of $1,626,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 182,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,874,566.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 30.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 79.0% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Shift4 Payments during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 27.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 52,033.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the second quarter worth $114,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FOUR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer began coverage on Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Shift4 Payments from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.40.

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.