Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Up 3.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Vertiv Holdings Co. shares rose 3.5% during mid-day trading, closing at $144.70, despite a significant drop in trading volume.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for Vertiv, with Royal Bank Of Canada raising its price target from $143.00 to $162.00 and ratings ranging from "buy" to "strong-buy" from several sources.
• Vertiv announced a dividend increase to $0.0375 per share, representing a yield of 14.0%, up from the previous dividend of $0.01.

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) were up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $145.50 and last traded at $144.70. Approximately 2,286,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 9,315,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $128.00 price target on Vertiv and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Melius raised Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.06.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.59, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.77. The stock's fifty day moving average is $126.25 and its 200-day moving average is $104.31.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. Vertiv had a return on equity of 51.64% and a net margin of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This is an increase from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 14.0%. Vertiv's payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total value of $5,059,801.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. This trade represents a 82.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertiv by 0.9% in the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 8,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 1.3% during the second quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the company's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in shares of Vertiv by 4.0% in the second quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vertiv by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Vertiv by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Company Profile

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.

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