Legal & General Group Plc Invests $14.34 Million in VSE Corporation $VSEC

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 62,772 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,343,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.22% of VSE at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in VSE during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in VSE in the second quarter worth $51,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VSE by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of VSE by 89.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of VSE during the second quarter worth $90,000. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSEC opened at $215.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 69.17, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. VSE Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.67 and a 1-year high of $247.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.23.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares in the company, valued at $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total transaction of $4,243,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,111,027.13. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VSEC. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on VSE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of VSE in a report on Sunday, August 9th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on VSE from $263.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VSE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.22.

VSE 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.