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

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,450,000 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the October 15th total of 3,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James lowered S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock traded down $7.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $503.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,187,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,519. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global has a 12-month low of $401.79 and a 12-month high of $533.29. The company has a market capitalization of $156.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $510.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $479.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. S&P Global’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.