Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTXGet Free Report)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $26.94, but opened at $24.58. Veritex shares last traded at $25.91, with a volume of 115,291 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.02). Veritex had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 7.79%.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Veritex’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VBTX. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Veritex from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Veritex from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Veritex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Veritex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Veritex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Veritex

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Sughrue sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total value of $508,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,894,950.75. The trade was a 21.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veritex

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VBTX. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veritex in the 4th quarter valued at about $509,000. Salzhauer Michael increased its stake in Veritex by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 49,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 15,779 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Veritex by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 173,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,707,000 after purchasing an additional 27,685 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Veritex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Veritex by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the period. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veritex Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Veritex Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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