Short Interest in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Decreases By 12.8%

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the January 31st total of 2,960,000 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 908,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT opened at $36.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. Equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at $7,070,006.64. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $240,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 28,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 12.1% during the 4th 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 valued at $7,118,000 after purchasing an additional 21,503 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.36.

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.