Vertex, Inc. $VERX Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 56.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,525 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,003 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Vertex were worth $2,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 108.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,012 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 17.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

Vertex stock opened at $15.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 389.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.63. Vertex, Inc. has a one year low of $11.86 and a one year high of $42.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on Vertex in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.08 per share, with a total value of $3,240,439.20. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 247,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,240,439.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339 over the last 90 days. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.