VSE Corporation $VSEC Shares Sold by Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 31.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,964 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,167 shares during the period. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in VSE were worth $1,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VSE by 10.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,489 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in VSE by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,047,000 after buying an additional 35,246 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in VSE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,488,000 after buying an additional 27,448 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in VSE by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,103,000. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total value of $4,243,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,111,027.13. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

VSE Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $215.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 3.77. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.23. VSE Corporation has a one year low of $154.67 and a one year high of $247.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.23.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. The company had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%.VSE’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

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