Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 472,005 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 472,005 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Vertex were worth $2,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 108.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,012 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 17.0% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VERX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Vertex from $50.00 to $37.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Vertex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $28.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Vertex from a “market outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Vertex from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.60.

Vertex Price Performance

VERX stock opened at $15.87 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $19.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.27. Vertex, Inc. has a one year low of $15.69 and a one year high of $60.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -45.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.59.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a negative net margin of 7.32% and a positive return on equity of 26.84%. The company had revenue of $192.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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.