S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the January 15th total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SPGI. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of S&P Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.92.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock traded down $2.55 on Monday, reaching $539.77. 973,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,243. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $507.39 and its 200-day moving average is $507.42. S&P Global has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $167.49 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 32.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 49,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,548,000 after buying an additional 5,258 shares during the period. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $1,656,000. Eagle Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $8,214,000. EPG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $914,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About S&P Global

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.