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

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.21.

VIRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT opened at $36.99 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $16.02 and a twelve month high of $38.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.36. 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 (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The company had revenue of $388.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 22.2% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.