The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $3.33 Million in VSE Corporation $VSEC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,569 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,329,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.05% of VSE as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VSE in the second quarter valued at about $362,000. Kendall Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of VSE during the second quarter worth about $7,355,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of VSE in the second quarter worth about $234,000. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VSE in the second quarter worth about $5,474,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VSEC. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on VSE in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VSE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VSE news, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,111,027.13. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total transaction of $1,279,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VSE Stock Performance

Shares of VSE stock opened at $198.25 on Wednesday. VSE Corporation has a 12 month low of $154.67 and a 12 month high of $247.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.16.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The company’s revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

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

VSE 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.