Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,910,000 shares, a drop of 14.9% from the November 30th total of 15,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Vertiv from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertiv from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Vertiv from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $115.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.09.

Insider Transactions at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,562,549.57. The trade was a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.39, for a total transaction of $5,271,064.33. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,750. The trade was a 60.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock worth $23,105,682. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertiv by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 47,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after buying an additional 25,266 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertiv during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vertiv by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the second quarter worth $156,000. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

Vertiv Price Performance

Shares of VRT traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $113.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,878,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,975,610. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.65 billion, a PE ratio of 75.75, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.61. Vertiv has a 12 month low of $44.31 and a 12 month high of $145.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.91.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 55.33% and a net margin of 7.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vertiv will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.0375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. This is an increase from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Vertiv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.67%.

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.