Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Stock Passes Below 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $25.77 and traded as low as $25.55. Veritex shares last traded at $25.71, with a volume of 323,982 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Veritex from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Veritex from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James raised shares of Veritex from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veritex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Veritex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Veritex Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.38.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $113.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.22 million. Veritex had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 7.79%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Insider Activity at Veritex

In other news, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 12,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.69, for a total value of $353,795.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 224,132 shares in the company, valued at $6,206,215.08. This represents a 5.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Sughrue sold 16,820 shares of Veritex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total value of $508,805.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,894,950.75. This represents a 21.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veritex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veritex in the second quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Veritex by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veritex during the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Veritex by 16.5% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 5,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Veritex by 295.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 7,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 5,559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.31% of the company’s stock.

About Veritex

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.