Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on VSE to $240 (from $220) and kept an "outperform" rating, implying about a 17.9% upside, while the consensus remains a Buy with an average target of $225.63 and several firms (e.g., Stifel, Truist) issuing higher targets or stronger ratings.
• VSE beat estimates for the quarter with $1.17 EPS vs. $0.93 expected and revenue of $324.6M (up 26.8% year-over-year), signaling solid near-term fundamentals.
• The stock traded around $203.64 (down 1.8%), has a market cap of $5.71B and a high P/E of 86.09, and is heavily institutionally owned (about 91.54%) with several large funds increasing positions recently.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $220.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the construction company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.85% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of VSE in a report on Thursday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of VSE to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VSE presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $225.63.

VSE Stock Down 1.8%

VSE stock traded down $3.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $203.64. 53,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,003. VSE has a one year low of $123.69 and a one year high of $232.61. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 86.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $198.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $324.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.19 million. VSE had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 4.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that VSE will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in VSE by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,139 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in VSE during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of VSE by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,485 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VSE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of VSE by 56.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 50,422 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 18,220 shares during the period. 91.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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