Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.50.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $36.69 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $38.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.32.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The business’s revenue was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.24%.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter worth $826,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 24.5% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,370,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth $394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.