Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) reached a new 52-week high at $34.56, and currently trades at $33.90 with a market capitalization of $1.86 billion.
• Analyst ratings for VBTX are positive, with five analysts rating it as a buy and a consensus price target of $33.25.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.6%, with a payout ratio of 41.90%.

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $34.56 and last traded at $33.90, with a volume of 457923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VBTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. William Blair upgraded shares of Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. 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, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Veritex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Veritex Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.80 and its 200 day moving average is $26.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business 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 7.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veritex news, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,567.42. This represents a 47.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,765,546.62. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 320,699 shares of company stock worth $10,361,627. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Continental Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veritex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $349,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 184,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,828,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 263.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.31% of the company's stock.

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.

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