Short Interest in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Drops By 12.7%

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, a decrease of 12.7% from the February 28th total of 3,620,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI traded down $17.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $496.98. 450,252 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,213,292. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $515.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $509.99. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in S&P Global by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.