VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• VSE shares fell to a new 52-week low of $152.34, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of roughly $197. Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $260.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.75 per share versus estimates of $0.93 and revenue of $449.1 million, up 65% year over year. Analysts expect full-year earnings of approximately $6.75 per share.
• VSE declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10, equivalent to an annualized yield of 0.3%, while institutional investors own 91.54% of the stock. CEO John Cuomo recently sold 1,566 shares but continues to hold approximately 167,971 shares.

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $152.34 and last traded at $156.0360, with a volume of 103,079 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VSE from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on VSE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.00.

VSE Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 3.77.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that VSE Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. VSE's payout ratio is presently 12.82%.

Insider Transactions at VSE

In other news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total transaction of $293,609.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,492,882.79. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $58,047,000 after acquiring an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its stake in VSE by 16.4% during the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,127,000 after acquiring an additional 27,563 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in VSE during the second quarter worth approximately $44,103,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in VSE during the second quarter worth approximately $29,461,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in VSE during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,888,000. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company's stock.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, engineering and logistics services. The company serves U.S. government agencies, defense organizations and commercial customers through specialized operating businesses focused on aviation, fleet management and federal services.

VSE Aviation distributes aircraft parts and related products and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for engines, components and other aviation systems. Its Fleet segment supports vehicle lifecycle management by supplying parts and providing maintenance, engineering and logistics services for government and commercial fleets.

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