VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $151.40 and last traded at $156.52, with a volume of 533,741 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VSEC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VSE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.12.

VSE Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.27.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.03 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. VSE’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In other news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total transaction of $293,609.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSEC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of VSE by 89.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, overhaul, engineering, logistics and other sustainment services for government and commercial customers. The company supports complex assets and supply chains, with activities spanning aviation, defense, transportation and fleet markets.

Through its aviation businesses, VSE distributes aircraft parts and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial, general aviation, business and government aircraft.