Castleark Management LLC Purchases Shares of 76,180 VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 76,180 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $7,245,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.37% of VSE at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VSE by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,026,164 shares of the construction company's stock worth $192,689,000 after buying an additional 698,642 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE during the fourth quarter worth about $35,834,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in VSE during the 4th quarter worth $31,692,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 716,168 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $68,115,000 after buying an additional 277,971 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in VSE by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,794,069 shares of the construction company's stock worth $170,616,000 after buying an additional 258,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VSE

In other VSE news, Director Anita D. Britt sold 2,869 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.38, for a total value of $371,191.22. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,837 shares in the company, valued at $496,431.06. The trade was a 42.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VSEC shares. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of VSE from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on VSE from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on VSE from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of VSE to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.17.

VSE Price Performance

VSEC stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $126.68. The company had a trading volume of 182,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,041. VSE Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.36 and a fifty-two week high of $139.51. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.35 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The construction company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $256.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.20 million. VSE had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 57.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that VSE Co. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. VSE's payout ratio is 50.00%.

About VSE

VSE Corporation operates as a diversified aftermarket products and services company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Aviation and Fleet. The Aviation segment provides aftermarket parts supply and distribution; maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for components and engine accessories supporting commercial, business, and general aviation operators.