Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $71.82, but opened at $85.48. Vertiv shares last traded at $81.72, with a volume of 6,782,361 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 61.41% and a net margin of 6.19%.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.0375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Fox Advisors assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Vertiv from $153.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Roth Capital raised Vertiv to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Roth Mkm began coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius cut shares of Vertiv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.94.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRT. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora purchased a new position in Vertiv during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Vertiv by 4,120.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Vertiv Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 60.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.71.

About Vertiv

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.