Cowen reiterated a Market Perform rating on Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY), and raised the price target to $100.00 (from $74.00), following Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) announcement that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heartland Payments Systems. The deal is expected to close in GPN's F4Q16.

Analyst George Mihalos commented, "Global Payments (GPN, Outperform, $71) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heartland Payments Systems (HPY, Market Perform) for a cash-and-stock transaction representing $100/share, or $4.3B. We are concurrently raising our price target to $100. The deal is expected to close in GPN's F4Q16 (May FY end). Given the implied valuation of ~30x P/E / 15.4x EV/EBITDA based on our 2016 estimates, we believe a competitive bid is unlikely."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Heartland Payment Systems click here. For more ratings news on Heartland Payment Systems click here.

Shares of Heartland Payment Systems closed at $85.10 yesterday.

Analyst Comments Analyst EPS Change Analyst PT Change Mergers and Acquisitions

SunTrust Downgrades Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) to NeutralDecember 16, 2015 6:57 AM After-Hours Stock Movers 12/15: (HPY) (ASNA) (HEI) Higher; (GPN) (DOV) Lower (more...)December 15, 2015 5:56 PM Market Wrap: Markets Rise Ahead of Fed Rate Decision; Valeant Inks Key Distributor Deal; Advance Auto May Explore SaleDecember 15, 2015 5:21 PM Global Payments (GPN) Reports In-Line Q2 EPSDecember 15, 2015 4:29 PM Global Payments (GPN) to Acquire Heartland Payment (HPY) in ~$4.3B DealDecember 15, 2015 4:24 PM Global Payments to Acquire Heartland Payment Systems for $4.3 Billion, Combining Leading Payments Technology CompaniesDecember 15, 2015 4:23 PM