VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.67.

VSE Trading Up 9.3%

VSEC stock opened at $241.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $206.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.13. VSE has a one year low of $154.67 and a one year high of $242.54. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.23.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $425.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that VSE will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at VSE

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of VSE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total value of $1,279,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of VSE by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,047,000 after purchasing an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the 1st quarter worth $1,276,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its position in shares of VSE by 16.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VSE by 58.8% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in VSE in the second quarter valued at about $4,527,000. 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.