Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.84 and last traded at $26.84, with a volume of 15861 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VBTX. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Veritex from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Veritex from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upgraded 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. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veritex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.00.

Veritex Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.62 and its 200 day moving average is $22.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $106.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.39 million. Veritex had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company’s revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veritex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VBTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Veritex by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,795,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,766,000 after acquiring an additional 23,222 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Veritex by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,445,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,566,000 after purchasing an additional 299,562 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Veritex by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,968,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,617 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veritex by 16.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 235,154 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Veritex by 11.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 827,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,446,000 after buying an additional 86,327 shares in the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.