Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 3.2% After Earnings Beat

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)’s share price shot up 3.2% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $111.89 and last traded at $111.87. 2,386,511 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 8,359,279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.36.

The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 50.79%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.09%. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRT. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertiv presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karsten Winther sold 44,924 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total value of $3,593,470.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,254.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRT. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Vertiv by 132.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 109.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.97.

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.