Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $55.83 and last traded at $55.9070, with a volume of 217714 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FOUR. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Loop Capital set a $80.00 target price on Shift4 Payments in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.25.

Shift4 Payments Stock Down 7.9%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.74 and a 200 day moving average of $77.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.66.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.03). Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 61.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nancy Disman sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $347,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 130,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,190. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Taylor Lauber sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $828,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 273,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,877,572. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,438 shares of company stock worth $1,278,317 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 25.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Shift4 Payments

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOUR. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,636,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,236,000 after buying an additional 41,548 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 66.9% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 178,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,802,000 after acquiring an additional 71,489 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 584,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,219,000 after acquiring an additional 243,161 shares during the period. Maestria Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Maestria Partners LLC now owns 372,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,826,000 after purchasing an additional 99,723 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,814,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.