Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 1,191,692 Shares of Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR - Free Report) by 30.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,094,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,191,692 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.45% of Vertex Energy worth $22,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTNR. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Energy during the third quarter worth $3,022,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 31.8% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 184,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 44,500 shares during the period. Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Energy during the third quarter worth $78,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 54,000.0% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 54,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 54,000 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 28.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 323,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 70,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.99% of the company's stock.

Vertex Energy Trading Down 5.5 %

NASDAQ:VTNR traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $1.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,529,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,164. Vertex Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.00 and a 1-year high of $9.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VTNR shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut Vertex Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Northland Securities cut Vertex Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $2.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Vertex Energy from $8.00 to $3.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.88.

Vertex Energy Company Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc, an energy transition company, that focuses on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. The company engages in refining and distributing petroleum products comprising the mobile refinery and related operations. It sells ferrous and non-ferrous recyclable metal products, and markets Group III base oils and other petroleum-based products, as well as provides transportation and marine salvage services.