Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) Lowered to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W cut shares of Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vestis from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic lowered Vestis from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $13.40 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. William Blair started coverage on Vestis in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird downgraded Vestis from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Vestis from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vestis presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $16.54.

Vestis Price Performance

Shares of VSTS stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,152,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,412. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.20 and a 200-day moving average of $15.74. Vestis has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $698.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.33 million. Vestis’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vestis will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%.

Insider Activity at Vestis

In other Vestis news, Director Williams Ena Koschel purchased 8,500 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.27 per share, for a total transaction of $104,295.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 29,266 shares in the company, valued at $359,093.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Douglas A. Pertz bought 22,442 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.62 per share, for a total transaction of $260,776.04. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 218,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,533,694.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Williams Ena Koschel bought 8,500 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.27 per share, for a total transaction of $104,295.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 29,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,093.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 318,454 shares of company stock worth $3,907,102 in the last 90 days.

Institutional Trading of Vestis

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vestis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,586,000. Capital International Investors bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,586,000. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,529,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,431,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,292,000. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.