Vertex, Inc. $VERX Shares Purchased by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,003 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex worth $2,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth about $300,348,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex by 9.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,917,000 after acquiring an additional 689,143 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vertex by 231.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,293,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $15.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Vertex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.86 and a 1-year high of $42.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 389.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.79.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The business had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were 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 directly owned 247,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,240,439.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen acquired 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,902.31. The trade was a 36.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.