North Star Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 252,542 Vertex, Inc. $VERX

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 252,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,899,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of Vertex at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 83,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,933,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Vertex by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Vertex by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Price Performance

VERX opened at $14.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.21 and a 52 week high of $26.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 715.36 and a beta of 0.83.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. Vertex had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VERX shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.43.

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.