Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 172,472 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 5,749,066.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,475 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 172,472 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.11% of Vertex worth $3,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VERX. Herald Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Vertex by 81.8% in the third quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,958,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 9.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,917,000 after buying an additional 689,143 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 44.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,136,000 after buying an additional 275,520 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its position in Vertex by 40.3% in the third quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 378,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,388,000 after buying an additional 108,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex by 19.9% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,049,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,807,000 after buying an additional 340,680 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $13.44 on Monday. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.59 and a fifty-two week high of $42.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.58 and a 200-day moving average of $16.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -268.80 and a beta of 0.81.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The business had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VERX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vertex from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $14.00 price target on Vertex in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.93.

Vertex 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.