VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Stock Price Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) was down 6.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $178.28 and last traded at $175.7620. 56,430 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 535,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VSEC. Guggenheim began coverage on VSE in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 research note on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research downgraded VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.22.

VSE Trading Down 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 3.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $210.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.09.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that VSE Corporation will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. VSE’s payout ratio is presently 12.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VSE news, CEO John Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total transaction of $4,243,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,537 shares in the company, valued at $41,111,027.13. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of VSE during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,103,000. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VSE in the second quarter valued at $29,461,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of VSE in the second quarter valued at $22,888,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,721,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,383,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC) is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, logistics, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and engineering services. The company primarily serves the U.S. government, commercial aviation operators, aerospace manufacturers, and fleet customers through specialized operating businesses.

VSE’s Federal and Defense operations support the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies with supply-chain management, equipment sustainment, modernization, engineering, and logistics services.