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

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.7143.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,149,000 after acquiring an additional 926,376 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $19,102,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 53.1% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,367,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,549,000 after purchasing an additional 474,177 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 170.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 555,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,890,000 after purchasing an additional 350,401 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 457.9% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 337,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,987,000 after buying an additional 277,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $37.13 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $31.55 and a 12-month high of $45.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $467.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $422.92 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.Virtu Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.