Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Trading Down 12.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) were down 12.4% on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Vertiv traded as low as $55.32 and last traded at $59.13. Approximately 8,470,243 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 8,814,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.47.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Vertiv in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Melius cut shares of Vertiv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Fox Advisors began coverage on Vertiv in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Vertiv during the 4th quarter worth $597,379,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertiv during the fourth quarter worth about $391,777,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertiv by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,754,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,932 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vertiv by 271.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,915,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,860,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Vertiv by 136.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion, a PE ratio of 46.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.71.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. Vertiv had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 61.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.0375 dividend. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Vertiv’s payout ratio is 11.72%.

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.