J.P. Morgan Increases PT From $18.00 To $21.00 and EPS Estimate From $0.94 To $0.98 On HPY

In a recent report, J.P. Morgan has increased the price target on Heartland Payment Systems HPY from $18.00 to $21.00 and also increased the EPS estimate from $0.94 to $0.98 after a better than expected 1Q for HPY. In the report, J.P. Morgan said, "Heartland Payment reported solid 1Q10 EPS (excl breach-related charges) of $0.20 versus JPM/Street at $0.18/$0.15. Most core underlying volume trends were better sequentially, and HPY continues to extract leverage at the processing expense line, which prompted our upgrade to Neutral yesterday. We are raising our estimates and Dec 11 price target to $21 (from $18)." Heartland Payment Systems closed yesterday at $20.84.