Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $23.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.36. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $16.02 and a 12-month high of $25.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.12. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 6.04%. The company had revenue of $366.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.79 million. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 1,867.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares during the period. 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.