Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $7.92 Million Stock Position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Veritex Holdings, Inc. by 78.4% during the first quarter, owning 317,329 shares worth approximately $7.9 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• A number of analysts have recently upgraded Veritex's stock ratings, with target prices ranging from $34.00 to $39.00, indicating a consensus of a "Moderate Buy".
• Veritex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, payout on September 30th, reflecting a 2.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 41.90%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 78.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 139,452 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.58% of Veritex worth $7,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veritex during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 327.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veritex during the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Veritex during the 1st quarter worth $227,000. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Veritex

In other news, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total transaction of $233,947.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 54,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,765,546.62. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total value of $4,057,082.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 294,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,828.08. This trade represents a 29.92% 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Veritex Price Performance

VBTX traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $34.40. The stock had a trading volume of 681,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,860. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.37 and a fifty-two week high of $34.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.20 and a 200-day moving average of $26.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Veritex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VBTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Veritex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, William Blair raised Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veritex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.