Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Climb 6.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) were up 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $211.81 and last traded at $206.79. 6,872,187 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 6,581,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.22.

Key Stories Impacting Vertiv

Investors following VRT have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein reportedly assigned Vertiv a Buy rating, adding to favorable analyst commentary, though the provided report does not include the firm’s rationale or price target. Vertiv Receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Neutral Sentiment: A report on SpaceX’s planned spending says Vertiv could be among suppliers of cooling equipment for its data centers. This represents potential demand, not a confirmed Vertiv contract. SpaceX Spending and Potential Power and Cooling Suppliers
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights technical weakness and valuation caution: one Seeking Alpha article describes the chart as “crushed” and its author is waiting for a lower entry price. That reflects one writer’s view, rather than a company announcement or consensus. Vertiv: Good Quarter, Crushed Chart

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vertiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $440.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on Vertiv from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho set a $300.00 price target on Vertiv in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.70.

Vertiv Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 2.11.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 53.31% and a net margin of 15.99%. Vertiv’s quarterly revenue was up 61.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th were given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.67%.

Insider Activity at Vertiv

In other news, Director Edward Monser sold 15,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.82, for a total value of $3,880,146.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,188,030. This trade represents a 48.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertiv by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,595,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,004,573,000 after acquiring an additional 63,609 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,794,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,428,000 after acquiring an additional 468,380 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 1.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,709,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,890,000 after purchasing an additional 51,328 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Vertiv by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,410,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,059,000 after acquiring an additional 608,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Vertiv by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,138,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,169,000 after purchasing an additional 23,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT) designs, manufactures and services critical digital infrastructure used by data centers, communications networks and commercial and industrial facilities. Its offerings help customers maintain reliable power, cooling and operating conditions for technology systems. The company’s products and solutions include uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution equipment, thermal management systems, racks, integrated modular infrastructure, and monitoring and control software.