KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $332,000 Position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Veritex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veritex in the 3rd quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Veritex by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.31% of the company’s stock.

Veritex Stock Performance

NASDAQ VBTX opened at $21.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.49 and a 200 day moving average of $26.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.74 and a twelve month high of $31.62.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.02). Veritex had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 13.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Veritex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VBTX. Hovde Group raised shares of Veritex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens dropped their target price on Veritex from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James downgraded Veritex from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $31.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Veritex in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.90.

Veritex 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.