VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Shares Up 12% – Here’s What Happened

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares shot up 12% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $208.90 and last traded at $208.2160. 103,139 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 672,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VSEC. Truist Financial set a $222.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of VSE from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of VSE from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of VSE from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VSE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.29.

VSE Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $201.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 235.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.28. VSE had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $301.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. VSE’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSEC. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in VSE by 26.2% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,582,000 after purchasing an additional 81,788 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in VSE by 31.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 247,417 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,131,000 after purchasing an additional 58,805 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in VSE by 1,331.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,642 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,304,000 after purchasing an additional 55,474 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in VSE by 10.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,489 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 18,220 shares during the period. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.