Pacer Advisors Inc. Invests $210.77 Million in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,829,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,766,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 10.50% of Vestis at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VSTS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vestis by 223.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,197,000 after buying an additional 2,591,593 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Vestis by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,631,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,413 shares during the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP increased its stake in Vestis by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 2,330,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,719,000 after purchasing an additional 430,555 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 9.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,156,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,136,000 after purchasing an additional 192,525 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vestis by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,541,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,854,000 after purchasing an additional 8,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VSTS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vestis from $13.60 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vestis from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Vestis from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vestis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.08.

Vestis Stock Performance

Vestis stock opened at $16.09 on Monday. Vestis Co. has a fifty-two week low of $8.92 and a fifty-two week high of $22.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.58 and a beta of 1.17.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $684.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.54 million. Vestis had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 0.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vestis Co. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Vestis’s payout ratio is currently 87.51%.

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.