Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Price Up 3.3% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

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Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shot up 3.3% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $152.59 and last traded at $148.93. 3,905,518 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 9,487,644 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.17.

The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Vertiv had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.0%. This is a positive change from Vertiv's previous dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius upgraded Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $127.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vertiv from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 43,683 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $5,059,801.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,292.33. The trade was a 82.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Karsten Winther sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $518,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,837.51. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Vertiv by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,106 shares of the company's stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 32.1% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 6,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 14.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 3,692 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Vertiv by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 51,131 shares of the company's stock worth $6,566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv in the 2nd quarter valued at about $434,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $121.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.78. The stock has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

About Vertiv

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.