Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) in a research report released on Tuesday. The firm issued a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Vertex Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $1.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $2.63.

Vertex Energy Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of VTNR opened at $0.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $0.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.99. Vertex Energy has a one year low of $0.30 and a one year high of $5.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $750.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.29 million. Vertex Energy had a negative return on equity of 58.04% and a negative net margin of 3.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.55) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Energy will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,092,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Energy by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 867,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after buying an additional 188,811 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 74.3% in the first quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 237,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 101,000 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Energy during the second quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Energy by 15.7% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 649,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 88,000 shares during the period. 42.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Energy

Vertex Energy, Inc, an energy transition company, that focuses on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. The company engages in refining and distributing petroleum products comprising the mobile refinery and related operations. It sells ferrous and non-ferrous recyclable metal products, and markets Group III base oils and other petroleum-based products, as well as provides transportation and marine salvage services.