Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys 25,068 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Veritex Holdings by 144.3% during the first quarter, owning 42,438 shares worth $1,060,000.
• Veritex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target increase from $30 to as high as $39 from various research firms.

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 144.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,068 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.08% of Veritex worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veritex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Veritex by 327.6% in the 1st 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 during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in Veritex during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Veritex during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veritex Stock Performance

Shares of VBTX stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.34. 478,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,713. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.08. 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 twelve month low of $20.37 and a twelve month high of $34.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.66.

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

Veritex Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 294,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,500,828.08. This represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angela Harper sold 47,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.37, for a total value of $1,544,566.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,931,938.71. This trade represents a 44.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,699 shares of company stock worth $10,361,627. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Veritex 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.