VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Stock Price Up 7.6% – Should You Buy?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $158.07 and last traded at $159.0210. 26,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 531,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VSEC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of VSE in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VSE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.38.

VSE Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.20.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. VSE’s payout ratio is 12.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In other news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total value of $293,609.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 167,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in VSE by 12.6% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,047,000 after purchasing an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in shares of VSE by 16.4% in the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,103,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,461,000. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VSE during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,218,000. 91.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, overhaul, engineering, logistics and other sustainment services for government and commercial customers. The company supports complex assets and supply chains, with activities spanning aviation, defense, transportation and fleet markets.

Through its aviation businesses, VSE distributes aircraft parts and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial, general aviation, business and government aircraft.