Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 65,500 Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 65,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CI Investments Inc. bought a new position in Vestis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Vestis from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vestis news, CEO Kim Scott bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.14 per share, for a total transaction of $287,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,505,127.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Vestis Stock Performance

VSTS traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $18.78. 1,463,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.63. Vestis Co. has a 1 year low of $13.83 and a 1 year high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $717.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $724.72 million. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th.

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.