Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Insider Jeffrey Westphal Purchases 150,000 Shares of Stock

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.53 per share, for a total transaction of $1,879,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at $4,983,682.20. The trade was a 60.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Westphal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 13th, Jeffrey Westphal acquired 247,740 shares of Vertex stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.08 per share, for a total transaction of $3,240,439.20.

Vertex Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $12.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 302.33, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.59. Vertex, Inc. 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 quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.17. Vertex had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 25.25%. The company had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VERX shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.07.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Vertex by 36.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after buying an additional 48,181 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,869,000 after buying an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 2.6% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 260,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,216,000 after buying an additional 6,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Vertex by 3.6% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 137,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after buying an additional 4,784 shares during the period. 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.