Oppenheimer Maintains Perform Rating On GPN

Oppenheimer is maintaining its Perform rating on Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) and believes the shares are “relatively fairly valued.”

“3Q:FY11 EPS from operations of $0.63 were in line with our estimate ($0.01 below the Street),” Oppenheimer writes. “Stronger than expected revenue (~$10M above our estimate) were offset by lower than expected margins and higher minority interest.

“Business mix, investment and lingering Canada issues continue to hamper margins, which fell 60bp Y/Y (vs. -240bp Y/Y in 1H:FY11). Management upped the low end of its FY11 revenue and EPS guidance by $20M and $0.04/sh, respectively; the mid-point implies ~$0.73 in 4Q11 EPS.

“We are raising our FY11 and FY12 estimates by $0.01 and $0.02, respectively. We maintain our Perform rating and believe shares are relatively fairly valued.”

Global Payments closed Thursday at $48.92.