Empowered Funds LLC Has $5.59 Million Stock Position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Veritex Holdings, Inc. by 29.3%, purchasing an additional 50,711 shares during the first quarter, totaling 224,034 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $33.25 for Veritex stock, with ratings including five "buy" and three "hold" recommendations from various firms.
• In related insider transactions, CEO C. Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares for over $4 million, significantly reducing his ownership by nearly 30%.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,711 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.41% of Veritex worth $5,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Veritex by 1.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,040,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,960,000 after buying an additional 59,056 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,239,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,675,000 after buying an additional 454,015 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,185,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,598,000 after buying an additional 218,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veritex in the 1st quarter valued at $29,215,000. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total value of $4,057,082.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 294,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,500,828.08. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,729,448.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,567.42. This represents a 47.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 320,699 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,627 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veritex Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of VBTX traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.21. 129,015 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 598,022. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.08. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.37 and a 52 week high of $34.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $109.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.91 million. Veritex had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.55%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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