VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VSEC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded VSE from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VSE presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $241.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VSE news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,431,571.98. This represents a 13.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VSE by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VSE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $247,000. Ellevest Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VSE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VSE by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. 91.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VSE Trading Down 6.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $193.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.00. The company has a quick ratio of 6.24, a current ratio of 8.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

VSE Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.88%.

About VSE

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.