What's Going On With Vertex Energy Shares Today?

Vertex Energy Inc VTNR shares are higher today. The company’s stock has declined ~57% in the past month.

The company reported an operational update for the fourth quarter of 2023 on Tuesday. 

The company expects conventional throughput volumes of around 67,000 bpd (vs. previous guidance of 68,000-71,000 bpd), with the slight reduction reflecting a combined impact of a strategic curtailment in throughput in light of deteriorating market conditions and the previously disclosed downtime to replace an electrical transformer proactively. 

Vertex expects the yield of finished conventional fuel products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to be 65%-67%, in line with the guidance of 64% to 68%, reflecting the ongoing benefit of the yield optimization efforts introduced in the second quarter of 2023.

The company sees renewable diesel production of 3,900 barrels per day (bpd), just under the forecasted range of 4,000 to 6,000 bpd, with the yield on renewable throughput volumes of around 96%, slightly below the previous range of 97% to 98%.

Benjamin P. Cowart, President and CEO of Vertex, said, “Simultaneously, we opted to improve our liquidity position by further leveraging cash invested in hard assets for the Renewable Diesel project through our existing term loan partner, achieving approximately $80 million in liquidity as of December 31st, 2023.” 

“As we step into the first quarter of 2024, we’re observing an improvement in crack spreads, combined with increased margin efficiency, which has led us to opportunistically ramp our production rates for conventional fuels and renewable diesel, proactively aligning increased capacity utilization with evolving market conditions.”

Price Action: VTNR shares are up 13.5% at $1.635 on the last check Thursday.