Eric Andersen Buys 40,000 Shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Director Eric Andersen bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vertex Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VERX traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,465,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,540,173. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.86 and a 12-month high of $44.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 300.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.46.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 0.96%.The company had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. Vertex’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Vertex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, November 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VERX. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.07.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Vertex by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 61,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 7,714 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 436.2% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 107,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 87,786 shares during the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at about $391,000. Finally, Saba Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Vertex by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 263,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,262,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

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.