Arizona State Retirement System Buys Shares of 36,544 Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 36,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTS. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Vestis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,714,000. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,909,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vestis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,412,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,700,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Vestis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,318,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Vestis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.56.

Insider Transactions at Vestis

In other Vestis news, CEO Kim Scott purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.14 per share, with a total value of $287,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,127.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Vestis Price Performance

NYSE VSTS opened at $18.79 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.57. Vestis Co. has a 52-week low of $13.83 and a 52-week high of $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $717.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $724.72 million. Vestis’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%.

About Vestis

Vestis Corporation provides uniform rentals and workplace supplies in the United States and Canada. Its products include uniform options, such as shirts, pants, outerwear, gowns, scrubs, high visibility garments, particulate-free garments, and flame-resistant garments, as well as shoes and accessories; and workplace supplies, including managed restroom supply services, first-aid supplies and safety products, floor mats, towels, and linens.