Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading 7.4% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 7.4% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $83.38 and last traded at $83.81. 4,043,180 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 11,200,241 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.00.

The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 61.41%. Vertiv's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Vertiv's payout ratio is presently 8.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm began coverage on Vertiv in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertiv from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Fox Advisors assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertiv from $132.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Vertiv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $597,379,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertiv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $391,777,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Vertiv by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,754,347 shares of the company's stock worth $880,971,000 after buying an additional 3,153,932 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 136.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,336,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,356,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,130,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.05 and a 200 day moving average of $107.57. The company has a market cap of $32.80 billion, a PE ratio of 67.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.71.

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.