VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $205.84 and last traded at $206.13, with a volume of 54699 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $201.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley boosted their target price on VSE from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on VSE in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on VSE in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on VSE in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial set a $222.00 price target on VSE in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.71.

VSE Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 306.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.88 and a 200 day moving average of $162.62.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The construction company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. VSE had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 1.23%.The company had revenue of $282.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.48 million. The firm’s revenue was up 38.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSEC. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VSE by 26.2% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,582,000 after buying an additional 81,788 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in VSE by 38.3% during the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 226,784 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,704,000 after buying an additional 62,849 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its stake in shares of VSE by 86.4% in the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 132,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,344,000 after buying an additional 61,392 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in VSE by 31.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 247,417 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,131,000 after acquiring an additional 58,805 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in VSE by 1,331.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,642 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,304,000 after buying an additional 55,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

About VSE

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.