VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $233.00 and last traded at $232.23, with a volume of 54210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VSEC shares. Zacks Research downgraded VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of VSE from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.78.

VSE Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 8.78, a quick ratio of 6.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 98.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.37.

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

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. 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%.

Insider Activity at VSE

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of VSE by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in VSE in the first quarter valued at $247,000. Ellevest Inc. purchased a new stake in VSE during the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VSE by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of VSE by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.