Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemShift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.88, but opened at $48.88. Shift4 Payments shares last traded at $48.1260, with a volume of 629,748 shares changing hands.
More Shift4 Payments News
Here are the key news stories impacting Shift4 Payments this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to a range of 5.500–5.700, above the Street consensus of ~5.39 — a bullish signal for forward earnings power.
- Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a $70 price target (~49% upside from the recent trade), providing analyst support that can attract buying interest. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat — Shift4 reported $1.12B in revenue vs. ~$1.09B expected and posted 49% YoY revenue growth, showing continued top‑line momentum. MarketBeat Earnings
- Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 earnings call transcript is available for investors who want detail on product trends, margins and outlook assumptions. Earnings Call Transcript
- Neutral Sentiment: Previews and metric‑level analysis from outlets (Zacks, Yahoo/MSN previews) framed expectations ahead of the print and provided context on key KPIs investors should watch. Earnings Preview
- Negative Sentiment: Earnings per share missed slightly: Q1 EPS was $0.97 vs. the $0.99 consensus and down from $1.07 a year ago — a near‑term negative that tempers the positive top‑line and guidance. Zacks: EPS Miss
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
FOUR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $50.00 price target on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $81.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Shift4 Payments from $100.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.76.
View Our Latest Research Report on Shift4 Payments
Shift4 Payments Price Performance
The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.58, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.87.
Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02). Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 39.27%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Shift4 Payments, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Transactions at Shift4 Payments
In other news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman acquired 159,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.15 per share, for a total transaction of $7,030,622.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,321,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,331,289.05. This represents a 13.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 385,757 shares of company stock worth $17,666,153. 25.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 100.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 148.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Summer Road LLC bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Shift4 Payments
Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.
The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.