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

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.36.

VIRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT opened at $31.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.38. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $16.02 and a 1-year high of $31.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.92 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The company’s revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at $658,530.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 46.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 76.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,884 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,238,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $12,575,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $957,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,368,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.