Did you know investors are increasingly interested in Shift4 Payments, a market leader in the payment processing industry? If you’re looking for innovative payment processing solutions in the United States, you must check out Shift4 Payments, Inc. &Sigma Planning Corp, an institutional investor recently investing in Shift4 Payments. A filing with the SEC &Sigma Planning Corp revealed that it had purchased 5,442 units of the company’s stock for about $304,000. This purchase demonstrates the confidence of institutional investors in the expansion potential of Shift4 payments. Let’s delve into Shift4 Payments, the fintech that’s capturing the attention of investors!
How Shift4 Payments’ All-in-One Solutions Drove Q4 Success
Shift4 Payments reported quarterly results data, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.34 for Q4 2020, surpassing analysts’ consensus projections of $0.31. In addition, quarterly revenue for the company was $199.40 million. The company’s success can be attributed to the size of its omnichannel card approval and processing solutions, which include merchant acquiring, complementary software integrations, integrated and mobile POS solutions, risk management and security solutions, and reporting and analytical tools. By eliminating the need for customers to go to several vendors, Shift4 Payments has established a distinct market niche in this very competitive industry. This has helped them better meet the specific requirements of their clientele while also increasing productivity.
Shift4’s Fintech Dominance Continues to Impress. Why?
Do you want to know if there is a tech stock that could keep its run of earnings beats going in its following report? Shift4 Payments (FOUR), a company in the Zacks Financial Transaction Services sector, is an attractive investment opportunity. This company has a proven track record of beating profit forecasts, as seen in the last two reports.
Shift4 Payments reported a quarterly profit of $0.47 per share, above the consensus estimate of $0.45 by 4.44%. The actual earnings per share for the prior quarter was $0.44, 4.76 percent higher than expected. In the previous two quarters, the company has beaten expectations by an average of 4.60 percent.
Power of price & EPS
Outperforming expectations have contributed to an upward revision in price targets for Shift4 Payments. With a high Zacks Rank and a positive ESP of Zacks earnings, this stock will likely outperform earnings estimates soon. Our analysis indicates that over 70% of the time, equities with a positive ESP and rank 3 in Zacks produce a positive surprise. That is, if you own ten stocks, seven of them may end up beating the consensus estimate.
The Zacks Earnings ESP is a variant of the Zacks Consensus Estimate that takes into account the relationship between variation and the most accurate estimate. The indicator compares the quarter’s most precise estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The reasoning for this is that experts who update their forecasts just before a company’s earnings report have access to the most up-to-date information, which may make their revised projections more accurate than the consensus estimate.
With an earnings ESP of +40.88 percent, Shift4 Payments has recently seen an increase in favorable analyst sentiment towards the firm’s earnings prospects. When coupled with the stock, the positive earnings ESP suggest another beat may be on the horizon. Investors should be aware that a negative earnings ESP decreases the metric’s predictive value. However, a negative number does not necessarily indicate an earnings shortfall for a stock.
Even though it’s common for firms to report higher-than-expected earnings per share, that isn’t always enough to send their stock prices soaring. However, some equities could continue to rise despite falling short of analyst projections. This is why checking a firm’s earnings ESP before its quarterly release can significantly improve your profit chances. Our earnings ESP filter will help you find the top stocks to sell or buy before they release their results.
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Shift4 Payments is the Next Big Thing for Tech Stock Investors. Why ?
There has been rising interest from hedge funds and other institutional investors in Shift4 Payments. In the third quarter, Durable Capital Partners LP expanded its holdings by 34.8%, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a 20.5% stake, and Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings by more than 21%. During the third quarter, both Tremblant Capital Group and Emerald Advisers LLC increased their exposure to Shift4 payments by over 22%. Roughly 67% of the company is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In addition to merchant acquiring, integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems, proprietary omnichannel gateway integrations, risk management/underwriting, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions, Shift4 Payments is well-known for its expertise in delivering a wide range of additional card acceptance and processing solutions. The stock began at $73.82, despite having reached a yearly high of $76.40. The firm’s beta is 1.24, and its market cap is $6.12 billion. The firm’s price-to-earnings ratio is 68.80.
As per reports, company insider Jordan Frankel disclosed through the SEC’s legal filing system that he sold 7,000 units of shares of Shift4 Payments for more than $497k.In addition, Nancy Disman sold equities totalling up to $107K. These insider transactions are only a few of many that have occurred recently, resulting in corporate insiders holding around 37% of FOUR.
Analysts have given the stock a “Moderate Buy” recommendation, with nine buy scoring for the stock. Multiple financial institutions also raised their price targets. For example, Piper Sandler raised its original recommendation from $69 per share valuation to $85 per share, proposing that investors consider acquiring holdings in shares of FOUR at this time. Truist Financial raised their Q2 2021 target cost on Shift4 Payments from $80 to $87, and Goldman Sachs Group analysts increased their price projections from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating.
Also Read: The Rise and Fall of Wirecard: An Analysis of the Corporate Scandal
Wrap up
Shift4 Payments has amassed a rapidly growing customer base, allowing them to integrate their services into a wide variety of environments. As a result of their dedication to providing merchants with unparalleled safety and value-added features, there was tremendous growth in e-commerce sites, mobile apps, and point-of-sale terminals which also led to a drastic increase in their stock valuation.
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