VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Trading 6.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) rose 6.4% on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $245.00 to $260.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. VSE traded as high as $235.19 and last traded at $235.4050. Approximately 63,139 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 569,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.23.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of VSE in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VSE presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,103,000. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of VSE by 12.6% in the first 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 period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 32,489 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,782,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its holdings in shares of VSE by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares during the period. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Stock Up 6.4%

The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $205.62 and its 200 day moving average is $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 3.77.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

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

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.