VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $110.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. 306,019 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 118% from the previous session’s volume of 140,129 shares.The stock last traded at $103.42 and had previously closed at $105.80.

VSEC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on VSE from $97.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In other news, major shareholder Calvin Scott Koonce sold 15,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total value of $1,404,999.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 463,284 shares in the company, valued at $42,543,369.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in VSE during the first quarter worth $81,623,000. AltraVue Capital LLC acquired a new stake in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,343,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in VSE during the second quarter worth about $10,326,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in VSE during the second quarter worth approximately $9,388,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in VSE by 13.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 561,397 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,912,000 after buying an additional 65,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 1.60.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The construction company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $265.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.60 million. VSE had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 1.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that VSE Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%.

About VSE

VSE Corporation operates as a diversified aftermarket products and services company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Aviation and Fleet. The Aviation segment provides aftermarket parts supply and distribution; maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for components and engine accessories supporting commercial, business, and general aviation operators.