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

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.21.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their target price 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 boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at about $1,081,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,971,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 41.9% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 94,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 27,948 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 124.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 29,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $36.99 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $38.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.36. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued 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 was Friday, November 29th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.24%.

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.