Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $51.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Shift4 Payments from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Shift4 Payments from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $120.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $55.00 target price on Shift4 Payments in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.24.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

FOUR opened at $41.11 on Tuesday. Shift4 Payments has a 1 year low of $34.56 and a 1 year high of $88.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.76.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.9% on a year-over-year basis. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Shift4 Payments will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 3,922.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,823,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,330,000 after buying an additional 2,753,215 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,338,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,215,000 after acquiring an additional 890,990 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Shift4 Payments by 3,048.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 872,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,938,000 after purchasing an additional 844,746 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter worth about $51,635,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Shift4 Payments by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,655,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,246,000 after purchasing an additional 816,155 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.