Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Stake 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 lifted its holdings in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 78.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Veritex

In related news, insider Cara Mcdaniel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.53, for a total value of $325,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,111.16. This represents a 36.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total value of $233,947.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 54,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,765,546.62. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 320,699 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,627. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Veritex Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VBTX opened at $34.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.37 and a 52-week high of $34.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. Veritex had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 14.83%.The business had revenue of $109.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

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.

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