Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Key Points

• Veritex Holdings, Inc. experienced an 11% increase in trading volume, with 618,542 shares traded on Thursday, compared to the previous session's 556,331 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have provided various ratings, with DA Davidson raising its price target from $32.00 to $39.00, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25 for the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%, reflecting a payout ratio of 41.90% of earnings.

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 618,542 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session's volume of 556,331 shares.The stock last traded at $30.63 and had previously closed at $30.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VBTX. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Veritex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Veritex Stock Down 0.5%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $27.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.08.

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 firm had revenue of $109.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.91 million. Veritex had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.55%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Veritex's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veritex news, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of Veritex 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 sale, the director directly owned 54,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,765,546.62. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total value of $1,729,448.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,567.42. The trade was a 47.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 315,030 shares of company stock worth $10,180,219 over the last 90 days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veritex by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,874,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $105,243,000 after purchasing an additional 39,746 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 712,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,358,000 after purchasing an additional 81,355 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veritex by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 89,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Veritex by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 9,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in Veritex during the 4th quarter valued at $306,000. 88.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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