Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Up 4.9% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) were up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $90.46 and last traded at $88.72. Approximately 6,834,540 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 7,879,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.57.

The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.06. Vertiv had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 6.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VRT. Bank of America lifted their price target on Vertiv from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $69.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.89.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, CAO Scott Cripps sold 56,594 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total value of $4,004,591.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $21,507,207.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,311.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott Cripps sold 56,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total transaction of $4,004,591.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 90.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Vertiv by 30.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertiv during the third quarter worth $331,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Vertiv by 1.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 121,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the third quarter valued at $542,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertiv Stock Up 7.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Vertiv Company Profile

Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.