Jeffrey Westphal Buys 150,000 Shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.53 per share, with a total value of $1,879,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 397,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This represents a 60.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Westphal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 13th, Jeffrey Westphal bought 247,740 shares of Vertex stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.08 per share, for a total transaction of $3,240,439.20.

Vertex Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $12.81 on Friday. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.96 and a fifty-two week high of $46.28. 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 $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 320.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.17 and a 200 day moving average of $21.72.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The business had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 0.96%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VERX shares. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,136,000 after buying an additional 275,520 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 40.3% during the third quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 378,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,388,000 after acquiring an additional 108,839 shares in the last quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 81.8% in the third quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vertex by 231.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 25,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.