VSE Corporation $VSEC Stock: Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Cuts Holdings

Key Points

• Moody Aldrich Partners reduced its VSE holdings by 29.7% in the third quarter, selling 8,568 shares and retaining 20,257 shares valued at approximately $3.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.54% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall, with VSE carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $253.38, despite recent price-target cuts from Morgan Stanley and RBC.
• VSE reported strong quarterly results, including $1.75 in EPS versus the $0.93 estimate and 65% year-over-year revenue growth. Shares opened at $146.11, near the company’s 12-month low, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC cut its holdings in VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,257 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,568 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned 0.07% of VSE worth $3,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in VSE in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in VSE in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in VSE by 89.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 276 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VSEC. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of VSE in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VSE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on VSE from $265.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total transaction of $293,609.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VSE Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VSEC opened at $146.11 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. VSE Corporation has a 12-month low of $138.85 and a 12-month high of $247.85. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.27.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%. The company had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 6.72 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. VSE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.82%.

VSE Profile

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, overhaul, engineering, logistics and other sustainment services for government and commercial customers. The company supports complex assets and supply chains, with activities spanning aviation, defense, transportation and fleet markets.

Through its aviation businesses, VSE distributes aircraft parts and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial, general aviation, business and government aircraft.

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