Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 3.3% Following Strong Earnings

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)’s stock price shot up 3.3% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $152.59 and last traded at $148.93. 3,905,518 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 9,487,644 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.17.

The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Vertiv had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.0375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 7.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vertiv from $127.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on Vertiv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Friday, July 11th. William Blair began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.06.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,292.33. This trade represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $518,815.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 14.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 12.8% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 51,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the second quarter worth about $434,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Vertiv during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.71 and a 200-day moving average of $104.78. The firm has a market cap of $55.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.72.

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.