Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) Short Interest Up 383.3% in July

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 recipient of a large increase in short interest during 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 presently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 705,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,729,448.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,949,567.42. This trade represents a 47.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $4,057,082.12. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 315,030 shares of company stock worth $10,180,219. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Veritex by 2.7% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Veritex by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Veritex by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Veritex by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Veritex by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veritex Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Veritex stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.12. 217,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,051. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Veritex has a twelve month low of $20.37 and a twelve month high of $33.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.68. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $109.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veritex will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VBTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair upgraded Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Veritex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.25.

About Veritex

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.