Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report) by 37.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 500,891 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 136,659 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Vestis worth $7,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Topline Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vestis during the fourth quarter valued at $6,880,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,993,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vestis by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 149,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 8,793 shares during the period. Natixis increased its holdings in Vestis by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 81,929 shares of the company's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vestis by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,095,278 shares of the company's stock worth $47,172,000 after acquiring an additional 980,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VSTS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vestis from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Vestis from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Vestis from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vestis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.08.

Vestis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VSTS traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.68. 1,023,360 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,315,648. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.51 and a beta of 1.55. Vestis Co. has a 1 year low of $7.35 and a 1 year high of $18.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.24.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Vestis had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 0.34%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vestis Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Vestis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.00%.

About Vestis

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.