Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Buys 25,000 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in Veritex Holdings, Inc. by 26.9%, acquiring an additional 25,000 shares to hold a total of 117,883 shares, worth approximately $2.94 million.
• Analysts have expressed optimism about Veritex, with several upgrades in ratings and price targets, including a new price target of $39.00 from DA Davidson, indicating positive growth expectations.
• Veritex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.6%, solidifying its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,883 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Veritex accounts for approximately 2.7% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.22% of Veritex worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Veritex in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Veritex by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at $143,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Veritex by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the period. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veritex

In other Veritex news, insider Cara Mcdaniel sold 10,000 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.53, for a total transaction of $325,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,111.16. The trade was a 36.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,729,448.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,567.42. This trade represents a 47.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 320,699 shares of company stock worth $10,361,627. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Veritex Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of VBTX traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.35. The stock had a trading volume of 457,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.08. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.37 and a 1-year high of $34.56.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 14.83%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Veritex's payout ratio is 41.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Veritex in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, William Blair upgraded Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veritex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.25.

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.