Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

FISV has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fiserv from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Fiserv from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fiserv in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $56.00 price target on Fiserv and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Fiserv from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.11.

Fiserv Price Performance

Shares of FISV opened at $62.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.59. The stock has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.85. Fiserv has a 1-year low of $43.87 and a 1-year high of $70.41.

Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. Fiserv had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fiserv will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FISV. William Mack & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Fiserv during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fiserv during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Fiserv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fiserv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fiserv by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Fiserv News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fiserv this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, topping the $1.72 consensus estimate; revenue of $4.85 billion matched expectations. Shares subsequently bounced, and coverage highlighted Project Elevate as support for an undervaluation thesis. Article: Fiserv Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings Article: Fiserv Rebounds on Project Elevate
• Positive Sentiment: KBW reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target. Citigroup and RBC also issued positive forecasts, adding support to the bullish view. Article: KBW Reaffirms Buy Rating Article: Citigroup Forecast Article: RBC Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiserv added Raj Seshadri to its board, a move tied to its payments and data focus. UBS raised its target to $68 but kept a Neutral rating. Article: Fiserv Adds Raj Seshadri to Board
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 1.3% year over year, and analyst opinion remains divided: Bank of America maintained a Sell rating, while B. Riley kept its Hold rating. Article: Bank of America Maintains Sell Rating Article: B. Riley Maintains Hold Rating

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc is a global financial technology company that provides payment, banking, and commerce solutions to financial institutions, merchants, and other businesses. Its services support electronic payments, card processing, digital banking, account processing, fraud prevention, and related financial workflows.

The company’s offerings include merchant acceptance and payments technology, issuer processing, digital banking platforms, core account-processing systems, electronic bill payment, and data-driven financial services.