Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.9286.

Several research analysts have weighed in on VERX shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vertex from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after buying an additional 48,181 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 10,910.6% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 13,420 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of VERX opened at $10.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -218.40 and a beta of 0.82. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $10.21 and a fifty-two week high of $36.75.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.82 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.Vertex’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

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.