Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) PT Raised to $24.50 at Citigroup

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $22.50 to $24.50 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $22.02 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. Virtu Financial has a 1 year low of $16.02 and a 1 year high of $22.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.40.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. First Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 19,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 79.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 171,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.