Weiss Asset Management LP Takes Position in Vestis Corporation $VSTS

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management initiated a position in Vestis, buying 74,278 shares valued at approximately $584,000, or about 0.06% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 97.4% of Vestis.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Vestis has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.50, despite William Blair upgrading the stock to “outperform.”
• Vestis reported quarterly EPS of $0.16, beating estimates of $0.09, while revenue reached $659.44 million, slightly above expectations but down 0.9% year over year. Shares opened at $15.32, near their 12-month high of $16.90.

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 74,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,000. Weiss Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Vestis as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Vestis by 1,506.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 295,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 276,638 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vestis by 603.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC now owns 214,686 shares of the company's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 184,181 shares in the last quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Vestis by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd now owns 380,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,535,000 after buying an additional 76,036 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Vestis by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 885,984 shares of the company's stock worth $5,910,000 after buying an additional 485,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vestis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,960,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,438,000 after buying an additional 346,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VSTS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vestis from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Vestis from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Vestis in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vestis from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, William Blair raised Vestis from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.50.

Vestis Stock Performance

Shares of VSTS opened at $15.32 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -109.43 and a beta of 0.98. Vestis Corporation has a 12-month low of $3.98 and a 12-month high of $16.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.07. Vestis had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 5.27%. The firm had revenue of $659.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. Vestis's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vestis Corporation will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Company Profile

Vestis Corporation provides uniform rentals and workplace supplies in the United States and Canada. Its products include uniform options, such as shirts, pants, outerwear, gowns, scrubs, high visibility garments, particulate-free garments, and flame-resistant garments, as well as shoes and accessories; and workplace supplies, including managed restroom supply services, first-aid supplies and safety products, floor mats, towels, and linens. The company serves manufacturing, hospitality, retail, food processing, food service, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, automotive, and cleanroom industries.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VSTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.