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

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get 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 trading hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Veritex's payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VBTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Veritex from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Veritex from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Veritex from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Veritex from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Sughrue sold 16,820 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total transaction of $508,805.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,643 shares in the company, valued at $1,894,950.75. This trade represents a 21.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Veritex by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 99,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,612,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Veritex by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Veritex by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its position in Veritex by 16.5% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 5,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 88.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Veritex Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.33.

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.