First Data Aids Harvey Affected Businesses With Clover Go

First Data Corporation (NYSE:FDC) has initiated free distribution of its Clover Go mobile debit and credit card reader to business owners of Harvey hit Houston.

The initiative covers both client and non-client business owners of the company. In fact, non-clients are not even required to pay set up fees and the minimum monthly fee for the next six months.

Clover Go has been made available from a command center at the JW Marriott located at 5150 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77056 beginning 12:00 noon CDT on Sunday. The free device can also be collected by logging into www.FirstData.com/HurricaneHarveyRelief or by calling a toll-free customer service hotline at 1-844-882-2438.

First Data shares have rallied 30.7% year to date, vastly outperforming the 0.6% gain of the industry it belongs to.

The Rationale

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Data, Frank Bisignano, stated “Whether a business needs to replace a payment device damaged in the storm, or set up shop in a temporary location with a mobile payment reader, we hope that our efforts can help impacted businesses get up and running quickly.”

This is one of the many initiatives that the company is taking in cooperation with local clients, organizations and authorities, big retailers and financial institutions to facilitate fast relief in affected areas.

First Data Corporation Revenue (TTM)

Our Take

We believe that this kind of corporate philanthropy will help the local economy recover faster and generate business value for First Data. An increase in popularity of Clover among existing clients and an opportunity to attract new customers to the Clover Family are added advantages.

The Clover family includes Clover Station, Clover Mini, Clover Mobile and Clover Go and offers a wide range of commerce-enabling solutions and applications.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

First Data has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) , Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Applied Materials, Activision and Applied Optoelectronics is currently projected to be 17.1%, 13.6% and 17.5%, respectively.

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