Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.6667.

A number of research firms have recently commented on VIRT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $65.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.17 and a 200 day moving average of $46.15. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.58. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business’s revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.89%.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.