Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $148.62 and last traded at $151.61, with a volume of 124542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.75.

Vertiv Trading Up 4.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.30 billion, a PE ratio of 100.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $126.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.34.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 6.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertiv news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,526.50. This represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anand Sanghi sold 30,914 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.46, for a total transaction of $4,373,094.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,751,114.08. The trade was a 61.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRT. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertiv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Vertiv by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Vertiv during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.