Analysts Set Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) PT at $42.57

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One 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 price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.5714.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $36.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. Virtu Financial has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.16.

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

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

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