Vanguard Group Inc. Has $207.92 Million Stake in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 689,143 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Vertex worth $207,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Vertex in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,348,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 231.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after buying an additional 2,490,097 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth about $88,293,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,381,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,535,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,258,000 after acquiring an additional 185,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eric C. Andersen purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. The trade was a 36.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.53 per share, with a total value of $1,879,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This trade represents a 60.55% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339. 43.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of VERX stock opened at $14.48 on Monday. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $42.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 362.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. Vertex had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 24.70%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Vertex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VERX. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $13.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

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.