VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Stock Price Up 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC)’s share price traded up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $158.07 and last traded at $159.0210. Approximately 26,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 531,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VSEC. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of VSE in a report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VSE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.38.

VSE Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 51.81, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.26.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at VSE

In related news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total value of $293,609.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 167,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,103,000. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,461,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VSE during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,218,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,888,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,721,000. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VSE

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, overhaul, engineering, logistics and other sustainment services for government and commercial customers. The company supports complex assets and supply chains, with activities spanning aviation, defense, transportation and fleet markets.

Through its aviation businesses, VSE distributes aircraft parts and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial, general aviation, business and government aircraft.