Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Barclays and JPMorgan have reduced their price targets for Vestis to $5.00 and $5.50, respectively, reflecting a lack of confidence in the company's performance.
• Insiders have shown confidence in Vestis, with Director Keith A. Meister purchasing 377,277 shares and overall insider ownership at 13.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VSTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vestis from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Vestis from $10.00 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.13.

Vestis Price Performance

Shares of Vestis stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $4.57. The stock had a trading volume of 544,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,369,830. Vestis has a 1 year low of $4.32 and a 1 year high of $17.83. The company has a market cap of $601.85 million, a P/E ratio of -19.88 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.50.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. Vestis had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $673.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vestis will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vestis news, Director Keith A. Meister purchased 377,277 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.89 per share, for a total transaction of $2,222,161.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,380,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,261,150.89. The trade was a 2.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 800,675 shares of company stock worth $4,777,432 in the last quarter. 13.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vestis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 168.2% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 33.0% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 54.2% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.