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

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.7143.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 66,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 26,756 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 117.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 191,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,176,000 after buying an additional 103,714 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 229,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,273,000 after buying an additional 2,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 19.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 61,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,753,000 after buying an additional 9,907 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $33.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.59. Virtu Financial has a 1 year low of $31.89 and a 1 year high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $274.00 million during the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 20.78%.

About Virtu Financial

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.