Vertex, Inc. $VERX Shares Acquired by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.07% of Vertex worth $2,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 3,088.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 7,998 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Vertex by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Vertex by 5,749,066.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,444,000 after buying an additional 172,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eric C. Andersen acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Down 0.7%

Vertex stock opened at $13.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.30. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.59 and a 52 week high of $42.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -263.40 and a beta of 0.81.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a negative net margin of 0.84% and a positive return on equity of 26.04%. The firm had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson set a $15.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.93.

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.