VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) CEO John Cuomo Sells 17,500 Shares

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) CEO John Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,111,027.13. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

VSE Stock Performance

VSEC traded down $5.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $230.42. 303,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 564,654. The company’s 50-day moving average is $212.92 and its 200 day moving average is $201.19. VSE Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.67 and a 52 week high of $247.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 73.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%.The company had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.03 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. VSE’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of VSE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,489 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in VSE by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,047,000 after purchasing an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in VSE by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,488,000 after purchasing an additional 27,448 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its holdings in VSE by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth $44,103,000. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on VSE from $263.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.