Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vertex Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a neutral rating and a $6.90 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Vertex Energy from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. They issued an outperform rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Vertex Energy from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Energy in a research report on Friday, March 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $14.43.

Vertex Energy Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of VTNR opened at $8.05 on Thursday. Vertex Energy has a one year low of $5.42 and a one year high of $18.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Insider Activity at Vertex Energy

In related news, CEO Benjamin P. Cowart sold 66,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total transaction of $670,003.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,583,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,118,607.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Benjamin P. Cowart sold 66,667 shares of Vertex Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.05, for a total value of $670,003.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,583,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,118,607.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Benjamin P. Cowart sold 66,666 shares of Vertex Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.10, for a total transaction of $539,994.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,650,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,769,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,333 shares of company stock valued at $1,461,998. 15.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTNR. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 4,698.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,198,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,725,000 after acquiring an additional 7,048,174 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Energy during the second quarter worth $13,872,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Energy by 31.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,264,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,335,000 after buying an additional 776,003 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Energy during the second quarter worth $7,262,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Energy during the first quarter worth $6,655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.44% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Energy

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Vertex Energy, Inc engages in the recycle of industrial waste streams and off-specification commercial chemical products. The firm focuses on the recycle of used motor oil and other petroleum by-products. It operates through the following segments: Black Oil, Refining and Marketing and Recovery. The Black Oil segment collects and purchases used motor oil from third-party generators, established network of local and regional collectors and sells used motor oil to customers for use as a feedstock or replacement fuel for industrial burners.