Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $150.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the closed-end fund's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential downside of 8.48% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $182.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock traded down $2.72 on Wednesday, hitting $207.61. 64,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,847. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $182.02 and its 200 day moving average is $180.47. Virtus Investment Partners has a 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Amundi increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 165.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,734 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter worth $659,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,036 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,993,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,030,000 after buying an additional 20,544 shares during the period. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional clients. It launches separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients.