Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Reaches New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $94.39 and last traded at $90.88, with a volume of 8073047 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.17.

The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 39.46% and a net margin of 6.71%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertiv from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertiv from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vertiv from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total value of $21,507,207.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,311.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Scott Cripps sold 56,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.76, for a total value of $4,004,591.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Liang sold 306,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total value of $21,507,207.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,841 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,311.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vertiv by 161.7% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Vertiv in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 571 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the first quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Vertiv Stock Up 6.8 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.90 and a 200-day moving average of $57.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $34.51 billion, a PE ratio of 76.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59.

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.