Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $111.00 to $100.00. The stock had previously closed at $91.58, but opened at $85.70. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Vertiv shares last traded at $82.90, with a volume of 4,181,985 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VRT. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Vertiv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora bought a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vertiv by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 200.0% during 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, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $105.10 and its 200 day moving average is $111.48. The company has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a PE ratio of 63.85, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.71.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.15. Vertiv had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 61.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a $0.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 11.72%.

Vertiv Company Profile

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.