VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Twelve brokerages give VSE a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with eight buys, three holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $252.22 versus a recent price of $208.68.
• Strong quarterly performance: VSE reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, surpassing the $0.93 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 65% year over year to $449.14 million.
• Insiders sold shares while institutions increased ownership: The CEO and COO sold a combined 24,000 shares, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company. VSE also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, yielding approximately 0.2%.

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $252.2222.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of VSE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VSE news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total value of $1,279,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,111,027.13. This trade represents a 9.36% 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSEC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in VSE by 34.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,139 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VSE during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of VSE by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,485 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,489 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of VSE by 56.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 50,422 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 18,220 shares during the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $208.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 66.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.23. VSE has a 52-week low of $154.67 and a 52-week high of $247.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $215.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. The business had revenue of $449.14 million during 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%.The company's revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that VSE will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. VSE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.82%.

VSE Company Profile

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.

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