Needham & Company LLC Cuts Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target to $20.00

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its price target trimmed by Needham & Company LLC from $30.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VERX. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Vertex from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 target price on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $37.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $37.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.94.

Vertex Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ VERX opened at $12.75 on Wednesday. Vertex has a one year low of $11.96 and a one year high of $48.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 318.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.29.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.17. The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. Vertex had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 25.25%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 44.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.