Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Veritex Holdings by 59.0%, acquiring an additional 23,436 shares, bringing its total to 63,184 shares valued at approximately $1.578 million.
• Veritex's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.56, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.54, with a revenue of $109.83 million, slightly below forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.8%, with a payout ratio at 41.90%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 59.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,436 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Veritex worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd grew its position in shares of Veritex by 58.4% during the first quarter. Solutions 4 Wealth Ltd now owns 66,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 24,335 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Veritex by 361.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 219,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,489,000 after purchasing an additional 172,171 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Veritex by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 769,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,203,000 after purchasing an additional 27,783 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Veritex by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,931,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,172,000 after purchasing an additional 56,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Veritex during the first quarter valued at about $853,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.31% of the company's stock.

Veritex Price Performance

VBTX stock traded up $0.0550 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.1150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 613,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,714. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.37 and a fifty-two week high of $33.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.03.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $109.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.91 million. Veritex had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total transaction of $233,947.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 54,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,765,546.62. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,729,448.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,567.42. The trade was a 47.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 320,699 shares of company stock worth $10,361,627 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair upgraded Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Veritex in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Veritex Company 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.