Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on VBTX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Veritex from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Veritex from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $24.13.

Veritex Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VBTX opened at $20.02 on Tuesday. Veritex has a 1 year low of $14.88 and a 1 year high of $24.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Veritex had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $77.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Veritex will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veritex

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veritex during the first quarter worth $33,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Veritex in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Veritex during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Veritex during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Veritex by 323.2% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. 88.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Veritex

Veritex Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Veritex Community Bank that provides various commercial banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts deposit products include demand, savings, money market, and time accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate and general commercial, mortgage warehouse loans, residential real estate, construction and land, farmland, paycheck protection program, 1-4 family residential, agricultural, multi-family residential, and consumer loans, as well as purchased receivables financing.