Citigroup Initiates Coverage on S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI)

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $600.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

SPGI has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group upped their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.14.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI opened at $491.81 on Friday. S&P Global has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $533.29. The firm has a market cap of $152.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.12.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sachetta LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is 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.