Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Down 3.8% – What’s Next?

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) traded down 3.8% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $196.00 and last traded at $201.6040. 5,374,975 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 6,573,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.64.

Latest Vertiv News

Investors following VRT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertiv also unveiled PowerNexus MV UPS, an outdoor medium-voltage system intended to help AI data centers connect to the grid, protect power supply and preserve indoor space for computing. The product broadens its offering for power-constrained data-center projects. Vertiv Introduces Medium-Voltage Power System
• Neutral Sentiment: A report on SpaceX’s planned spending says Vertiv could be among suppliers of cooling equipment for its data centers. This represents potential demand, not a confirmed Vertiv contract. SpaceX Spending and Potential Power and Cooling Suppliers
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights technical weakness and valuation caution: one Seeking Alpha article describes the chart as “crushed” and its author is waiting for a lower entry price. That reflects one writer’s view, rather than a company announcement or consensus. Vertiv: Good Quarter, Crushed Chart

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Vertiv from $500.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $320.00 to $245.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $331.00 target price on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Vertiv from $360.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.70.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $232.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.39. Vertiv had a return on equity of 53.31% and a net margin of 15.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th were given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 14th. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is 4.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward Monser sold 15,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.82, for a total transaction of $3,880,146.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,188,030. This trade represents a 48.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New World Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Vertiv by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 354,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,610,000 after purchasing an additional 22,372 shares during the last quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 384.2% in the third quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares in the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Vertiv by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT) designs, manufactures and services critical digital infrastructure used by data centers, communications networks and commercial and industrial facilities. Its offerings help customers maintain reliable power, cooling and operating conditions for technology systems. The company’s products and solutions include uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution equipment, thermal management systems, racks, integrated modular infrastructure, and monitoring and control software.