Zacks Research Boosts Earnings Estimates for Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) - Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Virtu Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $0.87 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.72. The consensus estimate for Virtu Financial's current full-year earnings is $3.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Virtu Financial's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.76 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.73 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.05 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.70 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.78 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.17 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.28 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.36.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.73. 1,027,771 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,776. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.62 and a fifty-two week high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 199,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,118,000 after buying an additional 21,503 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 8,653 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 834,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,771,000 after buying an additional 73,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 over the last quarter. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.