VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $240.56 and last traded at $238.01, with a volume of 412312 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $232.33.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut VSE from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised shares of VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of VSE from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VSE presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $241.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total value of $1,279,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of VSE by 1,331.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,642 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,304,000 after purchasing an additional 55,474 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in VSE by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,582,000 after purchasing an additional 81,788 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in VSE by 4.7% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in VSE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in VSE by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 8.78 and a quick ratio of 6.24. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.00.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.24. VSE had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 6.56%. The company had revenue of $324.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. VSE’s payout ratio is currently 16.88%.

VSE Company Profile

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.