S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $413.28, but opened at $428.04. S&P Global shares last traded at $410.22, with a volume of 550,398 shares.

The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on S&P Global from $480.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their target price on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.60.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $133.14 billion, a PE ratio of 46.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $423.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $417.41.

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.