Short Interest in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) Increases By 383.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) surged by 383.3% in July, reaching a total of 1,320,000 shares, with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.9 days based on an average daily volume of 705,700 shares.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $33.25 for Veritex, with ratings ranging from "neutral" to "buy" from several firms, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.
• CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold over 125,000 shares of the company stock at an average price of $32.26, representing a 29.92% decrease in his ownership, while insiders sold a total of approximately $10 million in shares recently.

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,320,000 shares, anincreaseof383.3% from the June 30th total of 273,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 705,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 705,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VBTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued 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. William Blair raised shares of Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veritex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veritex news, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $9,500,828.08. This represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 54,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 307,810 shares of company stock valued at $9,958,709. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,931,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,172,000 after acquiring an additional 56,676 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,803,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,149,000 after acquiring an additional 125,189 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 3.0% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,040,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,960,000 after acquiring an additional 59,056 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,239,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,675,000 after acquiring an additional 454,015 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 22.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,185,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,598,000 after acquiring an additional 218,962 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.31% of the company's stock.

Veritex Price Performance

Veritex stock opened at $30.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.47 and its 200 day moving average is $25.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Veritex has a 52-week low of $20.10 and a 52-week high of $33.69.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $109.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.91 million. Veritex had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veritex will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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