Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.60.

VERX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Vertex from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Vertex from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Aperture Investors LLC grew its position in Vertex by 1.8% during the first quarter. Aperture Investors LLC now owns 644,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,554,000 after buying an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 201,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,130,000 after acquiring an additional 25,812 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 225,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,908,000 after acquiring an additional 31,528 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex by 258.6% during the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 96,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 69,565 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 308,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,899,000 after purchasing an additional 114,384 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Trading Up 0.3%

Vertex stock opened at $20.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.68. Vertex has a 52 week low of $18.54 and a 52 week high of $60.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a negative net margin of 7.32% and a positive return on equity of 26.84%. The company had revenue of $192.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Vertex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Vertex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.