Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $60.70 and last traded at $60.3820, with a volume of 1042290 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VIRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.89%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.