Global Payments Inc. ($GPN) has recently been the subject of growing interest among short sellers in May 2023, with short interest totaling 3.75 million shares – a growth of 22.5% from the April total of 3.06 million shares. With an average daily volume of 2.01 million shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently at 1.9 days and an astonishing percentage of only 1.5% of GPN’s stock shares have been sold short.
Despite this news, there have been some intriguing developments regarding investors’ stakes in the company which suggest that long-term prospects remain broadly positive. Glassman Wealth Services increased its holdings in Global Payments by 94.3% during Q1; James Investment Research Inc., Clear Street Markets LLC, Venturi Wealth Management LLC have all bought new positions during previous quarters whilst MV Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Global Payments by a whopping 166.7% during Q1 as well.
In addition to these recent moves by institutional investors, there are further encouraging signs for GPN considering transactions made by insiders over quarter one disclosing a quarterly dividend that will be paid to investors on June 30th representing a yield of 1%. The dividend payout ratio stands at present -212%, however stability in payouts is often viewed positively.
Overall it seems investors continue to hold faith in GPN’s long-term aspirations despite the increased interest from short sellers along with reported loss on earnings-per-share for previous quarters being greater than expected causing fear amongst some in Wallstreet.
When looking more closely at current trends within short selling however, after eventualities such as increasing demand fuelled by momentum or greater regulatory measures against excessive on-account borrowing prop up, it is not unheard-of for decreased levels or decreases relative to overall trading volume following short-selling peaks to occur over extended timescales given relatively secure fundamentals and solid analytical reviews recognized within the financial services industry. GPN, by no means, is an exception to this trend.
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