Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 120,054 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Premier Fund Managers Ltd decreased its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 453,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,054 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Vertex were worth $9,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,293,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vertex by 231.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490,097 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 2,730.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,343,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,297 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex in the 3rd quarter worth $30,988,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vertex by 76.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,161,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,584,000 after purchasing an additional 937,905 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal bought 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.53 per share, for a total transaction of $1,879,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 397,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,983,682.20. This represents a 60.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $12.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.04. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.59 and a fifty-two week high of $42.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 316.43 and a beta of 0.81.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The company had revenue of $194.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. Vertex had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 24.70%. Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.71.

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.