Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $150.00 to $190.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VRTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of VRTS stock opened at $207.61 on Wednesday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $182.02 and its 200-day moving average is $180.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 165.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,734 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $659,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,036 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $18,030,000 after acquiring an additional 20,544 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional clients. It launches separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients.