Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) Share Price Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $1.62

Shares of Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.62 and traded as low as $1.00. Vertex Energy shares last traded at $1.01, with a volume of 1,312,193 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VTNR. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Energy from $8.00 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Vertex Energy in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.88.

Vertex Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.62.

Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The industrial products company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.06. Vertex Energy had a negative net margin of 4.50% and a negative return on equity of 45.99%. The firm had revenue of $695.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $672.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.58) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Energy, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTNR. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Vertex Energy by 31.8% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 184,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 44,500 shares in the last quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 136,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,094,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,670,000 after buying an additional 1,191,692 shares during the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 58,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adams Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Energy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 180,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.99% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Energy

Vertex Energy, Inc, an energy transition company, that focuses on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. The company engages in refining and distributing petroleum products comprising the mobile refinery and related operations. It sells ferrous and non-ferrous recyclable metal products, and markets Group III base oils and other petroleum-based products, as well as provides transportation and marine salvage services.