Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $71.82, but opened at $85.48. Vertiv shares last traded at $81.72, with a volume of 6,782,361 shares traded.

The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 61.41% and a net margin of 6.19%.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Vertiv from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. KGI Securities assumed coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vertiv from $132.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Vertiv from $153.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora acquired a new stake in Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Vertiv by 4,120.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 422 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 292 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.02, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.05 and its 200 day moving average is $107.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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.