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

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.53 per share, with a total value of $1,879,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This represents a 60.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

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

Vertex Price Performance

VERX stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.09. The company had a trading volume of 4,185,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,920. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.85. 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 current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The firm had revenue of $194.71 million for 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 25.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share 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 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VERX shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Vertex by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.