Short Interest in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Decreases By 12.7%

by · The Cerbat Gem

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the February 28th total of 3,620,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after purchasing an additional 116,208 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $1,725,084,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,631,568,000 after buying an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,653,000 after buying an additional 357,790 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

Get Our Latest Research Report on SPGI

S&P Global Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded down $17.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $496.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,292. S&P Global has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $515.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $509.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

About S&P Global

(Get Free Report)

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.

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