Whittier Trust Co. Has $130,000 Holdings in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Whittier Trust Co. cut its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 97.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,565 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259,014 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Vertex were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 36.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after purchasing an additional 48,181 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 4.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 92.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 10,910.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal bought 247,740 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owned 247,740 shares in the company, valued at $3,240,439.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

VERX stock opened at $12.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.99. Vertex, Inc. has a one year low of $10.59 and a one year high of $42.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 308.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.80.

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