Vertex, Inc. $VERX Stock Position Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 689,143 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.26% of Vertex worth $207,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 2.2% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,052,000 after buying an additional 23,437 shares during the period. Herald Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Vertex by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after acquiring an additional 90,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,136,000 after purchasing an additional 275,520 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $14.48 on Monday. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $42.44. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 362.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.02.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.17. The company had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eric C. Andersen purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. The trade was a 36.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.08 per share, for a total transaction of $3,240,439.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 247,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,240,439.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339 over the last ninety days. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VERX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.07.

Vertex Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VERX) is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.