Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Short Interest Up 6.9% in January

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,000,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the December 31st total of 6,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Shift4 Payments Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FOUR traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $118.08. The stock had a trading volume of 320,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,030. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.29. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.20, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.72. Shift4 Payments has a 1-year low of $55.87 and a 1-year high of $123.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jordan Frankel sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.01, for a total transaction of $495,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 222,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,991,309.12. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 37,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,748,585.23. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,462 shares of company stock worth $1,211,364 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $106.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Shift4 Payments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.24.

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.