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

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.50.

Several brokerages recently commented on VIRT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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 boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 38.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,974,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,419 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,643,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,801,000 after buying an additional 124,563 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,215,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,295,000 after buying an additional 342,327 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $29,815,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 4.3% in the second quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 681,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,298,000 after acquiring an additional 28,199 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $36.49 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $38.45.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is 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.