Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Increased to $24.50 by Analysts at Citigroup

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $22.50 to $24.50 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ VIRT traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.15. 615,869 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,082,232. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $16.02 and a 12-month high of $22.80.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The firm had revenue of $535.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 19,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 171,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.