Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

VERX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.93.

Vertex Price Performance

NASDAQ VERX opened at $13.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of -263.20 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.68. Vertex has a 12-month low of $10.59 and a 12-month high of $42.44.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VERX. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Vertex by 36.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,336,000 after acquiring an additional 48,181 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 25.7% during the first 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Vertex by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 92.1% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Vertex by 10,910.6% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 13,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

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.