Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS) Stock Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts broadly rate Vestis “Reduce”: Four of eight analysts recommend selling, three rate it hold and one recommends buying; the average 12-month price target is $12.66.
• Vestis reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, beating the $0.10 consensus, while revenue of $661.66 million fell short of estimates of $668.94 million.
• CEO James Barber bought 84,500 shares at an average price of $12.37, increasing his stake by 10.8%; company insiders own 15.7% of the stock.

Shares of Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.66.

VSTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vestis in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vestis from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Vestis from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vestis from $8.20 to $9.30 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vestis from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th.

Insider Activity

In other Vestis news, CEO James Barber bought 84,500 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.37 per share, with a total value of $1,045,265.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 867,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,727,536.14. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vestis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTS. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vestis by 46.6% during the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,731,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,133,000 after acquiring an additional 550,000 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Vestis by 69.1% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,072,081 shares of the company's stock worth $8,427,000 after purchasing an additional 437,965 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Vestis by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 878,251 shares of the company's stock worth $6,903,000 after purchasing an additional 17,009 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vestis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,368,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vestis by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 544,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,278,000 after purchasing an additional 9,901 shares in the last quarter. 97.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vestis Stock Performance

Shares of VSTS traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.25. 839,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,785. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -284.94 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Vestis has a 12-month low of $5.00 and a 12-month high of $16.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.61.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. Vestis had a positive return on equity of 7.27% and a negative net margin of 0.20%. The company had revenue of $661.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $668.94 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Vestis will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vestis

Vestis Corporation NYSE: VSTS provides workplace apparel and facility services to businesses and organizations across the United States and Canada. Its offerings are designed to help customers manage employee uniforms and maintain clean, safe, and professional work environments.

The company supplies and services uniforms, workwear, and protective apparel, along with related products such as linens, towels, floor mats, restroom supplies, first-aid products, and other workplace essentials.

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