StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Posted by Adam Dyson on Mar 19th, 2023

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VIRT. TheStreet downgraded Virtu Financial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Virtu Financial from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $18.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.17. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $16.26 and a 52 week high of $38.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $274.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.94 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 11.21% and a return on equity of 29.54%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 128.9% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 8,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Virtu Financial, Inc engages in the provision of market making and liquidity services. It operates through the following segments: Market Making, Execution Services and Corporate. The Market Making segment engages in the buying and selling of securities and other financial instruments. The Execution Services segment agency offers trading venues that provide transparent trading in global equities, ETFs, and fixed income to institutions, banks and broker dealers.