Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Holdings in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 49,000 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.36% of Veritex worth $5,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VBTX. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Veritex during the fourth quarter worth about $11,172,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,974,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,797,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Veritex by 24.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 631,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,618,000 after acquiring an additional 122,809 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Veritex by 13.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 680,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,918,000 after acquiring an additional 78,082 shares during the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of Veritex from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James cut Veritex from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens decreased their price objective on Veritex from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veritex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.90.

Veritex Price Performance

VBTX stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $21.79. 620,847 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,864. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.74 and a twelve month high of $31.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.20 and a 200-day moving average of $26.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.11.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.02). Veritex had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.59%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Veritex Profile

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.