Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Shares in VSE Corporation $VSEC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,424 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VSE by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after buying an additional 32,489 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of VSE by 12.6% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,047,000 after acquiring an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in VSE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,488,000 after acquiring an additional 27,448 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its stake in shares of VSE by 16.4% in the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,127,000 after acquiring an additional 27,563 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in VSE during the second quarter valued at $44,103,000. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In other VSE news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE 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 $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total value of $4,243,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,111,027.13. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VSE Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $203.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 65.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $214.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.13. VSE Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.67 and a 12-month high of $247.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The company’s revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on VSE in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.22.

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.