Jeffrey Westphal Purchases 247,740 Shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.08 per share, with a total value of $3,240,439.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 247,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,240,439.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, February 17th, Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of Vertex stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.53 per share, for a total transaction of $1,879,500.00.

Vertex Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $12.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap 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. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.96 and a 52 week high of $46.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.72.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 36.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,336,000 after buying an additional 48,181 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 2.6% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 260,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,216,000 after purchasing an additional 6,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 3.6% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 137,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price target on Vertex in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

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.