Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Key Points

• Jefferies initiated coverage with a “buy” rating and a $210 price target (about 18.6% upside); analysts' consensus is a Buy with an average price target of $223.13.
• VSE recently beat quarterly estimates with $1.16 EPS vs. $0.88 expected and $301.18M revenue (+32.4% YoY); the stock trades around $177.10, has a market cap of ~$4.97B and a high P/E (~199).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 91.54%, and several institutional investors have recently increased their stakes, indicating strong institutional interest.

Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target on the construction company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 18.58% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VSEC. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of VSE from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of VSE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of VSE from $250.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of VSE to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $223.13.

VSE Stock Performance

VSE stock traded up $8.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.10. The company had a trading volume of 237,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,581. VSE has a 52 week low of $112.50 and a 52 week high of $232.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.99, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.51 and a 200-day moving average of $190.41.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $301.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. VSE had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VSE will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its position in shares of VSE by 16.4% in the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,127,000 after purchasing an additional 27,563 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in VSE by 12.6% during the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company's stock worth $58,047,000 after acquiring an additional 35,246 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in VSE during the first quarter worth $1,276,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in VSE by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,488,000 after acquiring an additional 27,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. bought a new stake in VSE during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company's stock.

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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