Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $30.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Veritex from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veritex from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Veritex from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veritex has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $28.00.

Veritex Price Performance

Veritex stock opened at $25.64 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Veritex has a 52-week low of $15.93 and a 52-week high of $26.17.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Veritex had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $106.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Veritex will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veritex by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 647,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,067,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares during the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC increased its position in Veritex by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 208,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,846,000 after buying an additional 125,912 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Veritex by 767.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 277,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,548,000 after buying an additional 245,106 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Veritex by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,777,000 after acquiring an additional 52,933 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Veritex by 16.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,668,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,193,000 after acquiring an additional 235,154 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.