Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading 11.7% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) traded up 11.7% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $94.39 and last traded at $88.45. 12,267,756 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the average session volume of 7,676,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.17.

The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.06. Vertiv had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Vertiv’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertiv from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Vertiv from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Vertiv from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Vertiv from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Vertiv from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.78.

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $21,507,207.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,311.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Scott Cripps sold 56,594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total value of $4,004,591.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total value of $21,507,207.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,641,311.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $1,834,000. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $14,611,000. MONECO Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $334,000. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Vertiv by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.10. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59.

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.