Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX)

Key Points

• Veritex (NASDAQ: VBTX) received a "hold (C+)" rating from Weiss Ratings, reaffirming its current position amid fluctuating analyst opinions.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Veritex, with DA Davidson setting it at $39.00 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods at $37.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Insider selling activity has increased, with key executives selling a significant number of shares recently, which could influence market perception and investor sentiment.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Veritex in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, William Blair raised Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.25.

Veritex Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of VBTX traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,099,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.03. Veritex has a 12-month low of $20.37 and a 12-month high of $34.96.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $109.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.91 million. Veritex had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 14.83%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Veritex will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cara Mcdaniel sold 10,000 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.53, for a total value of $325,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,111.16. This trade represents a 36.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 owned 294,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,828.08. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 320,699 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,627. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veritex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VBTX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Veritex by 50.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Veritex in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Veritex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veritex by 260.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veritex by 28.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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