Zacks Research Upgrades VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) to “Strong-Buy”

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on VSEC. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of VSE from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $268.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $260.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VSE currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.44.

VSE Trading Down 7.1%

VSE stock opened at $221.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.21. VSE has a 1 year low of $123.69 and a 1 year high of $240.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 6.24 and a current ratio of 8.78.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $324.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.19 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 4.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that VSE will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at VSE

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total transaction of $1,279,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VSEC. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of VSE by 34.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,139 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in VSE in the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in VSE by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,485 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of VSE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of VSE by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 50,422 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after buying an additional 18,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

About VSE

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC) is a provider of aftermarket distribution and supply chain management services serving both government and commercial markets. The company’s solutions span a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on defense, aerospace and transportation. VSE’s core mission is to ensure mission readiness by delivering critical parts, maintenance and technical support for equipment throughout its lifecycle.

Through its Distribution Services segment, VSE sources, markets and distributes replacement parts and components for commercial truck, bus, rail and specialty vehicle applications.