Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.56 Million in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 136,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,563,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 25.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 9.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 1.4% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 83,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 2.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Vertex by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.43.

Vertex Stock Down 4.3%

VERX opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 618.81 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.79. Vertex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.21 and a 12 month high of $26.54.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.21 million. Vertex had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex

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.