S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Short Interest Update

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) experienced a significant surge in short interest during February. As of February 28, the total short interest stood at 3,620,000 shares, reflecting a 25.3% increase from the 2,890,000 shares reported on February 13. With an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the current short-interest ratio is 2.7 days. This indicates that approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are currently sold short.

S&P Global Stock Performance

On Monday, shares of S&P Global traded up by $7.89 to reach $494.38. The trading volume for the day was 1,168,277 shares, which is slightly above the average volume of 1,148,650. Over the past twelve months, the stock has seen a low of $407.69 and a high of $545.39. The company boasts a market capitalization of $152.17 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41. Its beta stands at 1.20, while the quick ratio and current ratio are both at 0.85. Furthermore, the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.34, with a 50-day moving average price of $513.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $510.89.

Recent Earnings Announcement

S&P Global reported its earnings results on February 11. The firm delivered an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.77 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. The company's return on equity was 14.33%, and it recorded a net margin of 27.12%. This performance marks an increase from the EPS of $3.13 reported in the same quarter the previous year. Analysts forecast that S&P Global will post an EPS of 17.11 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Increase

The company recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on March 12. Shareholders who were on record as of February 26 received a dividend of $0.96. This annualized dividend equates to $3.84, with a dividend yield of 0.78%. This marks an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was February 26, and S&P Global's current dividend payout ratio is 31.09%.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have adjusted their positions in S&P Global. For example, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holding by 3.4% during Q3, now owning 8,868,375 shares valued at approximately $4.58 billion after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares. Meanwhile, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake by 1.8%, holding 6,589,982 shares valued at around $3.27 billion. FMR LLC also boosted its position by 6.6%, now owning 5,965,369 shares worth about $3.08 billion. Norges Bank also established a new position valued roughly at $1.73 billion. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake by 19.1%, now holding 3,276,043 shares worth approximately $1.63 billion. Altogether, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 87.17% of S&P Global's stock.

Analyst Ratings

The stock has been the focus of various research reports. Citigroup began coverage with a "buy" rating and a target price of $600.00. Wells Fargo & Company raised its target price from $617.00 to $633.00, assigning an "overweight" rating. BMO Capital Markets lifted its price objective from $576.00 to $590.00 and rated the stock as "outperform." Conversely, Oppenheimer lowered their target from $590.00 to $580.00 but maintained an "outperform" rating. StockNews.com downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold." Currently, analysts rate S&P Global with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $590.86.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc. provides transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to global capital and commodity markets. The company operates through various segments, including Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.

S&P, Global, Finance, Stocks, Dividends, Investments, Earnings