Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,830,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the November 15th total of 7,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Shift4 Payments Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FOUR opened at $103.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 56.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $99.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.01. Shift4 Payments has a 52 week low of $55.87 and a 52 week high of $116.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FOUR. B. Riley raised their target price on Shift4 Payments from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $93.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Shift4 Payments from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.10.

Insider Activity at Shift4 Payments

In other Shift4 Payments news, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.07, for a total value of $147,764.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,089 shares in the company, valued at $3,748,585.23. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jordan Frankel sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.01, for a total transaction of $495,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 222,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,991,309.12. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,211,364. 30.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 5,883,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980,940 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 11,776.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,730,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716,132 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 6,185.0% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,095,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,115 shares in the last quarter. Senator Investment Group LP increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 8,551.1% in the second quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 562,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,240,000 after purchasing an additional 555,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Shift4 Payments by 113.0% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 457,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,532,000 after purchasing an additional 242,684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.