Citigroup Cuts Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target to $15.00

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $22.00 to $15.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson set a $13.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on Vertex in a report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.94.

Vertex Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $12.75 on Thursday. Vertex has a 1-year low of $11.96 and a 1-year high of $48.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 318.83, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.59.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 0.96%.The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,348,000. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,293,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 231.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth $60,381,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex by 2,730.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,343,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,312,000 after buying an additional 1,296,297 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Company 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.