Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.7143.

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $34.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.59. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $31.89 and a 12 month high of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter. The company 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%. Research analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.8% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.