VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) Short Interest Up 26.5% in January

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,006,688 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the December 31st total of 1,585,813 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 354,268 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 354,268 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSEC. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in VSE by 31.2% during 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 buying an additional 58,805 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of VSE by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,625 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,273,000 after acquiring an additional 7,484 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth $498,000. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE during the 3rd quarter worth $887,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in shares of VSE by 86.4% in the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 132,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,344,000 after purchasing an additional 61,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of VSE from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial set a $222.00 target price on VSE in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on VSE from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.14.

VSE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSEC opened at $190.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 280.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $188.02 and its 200-day moving average is $171.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. VSE has a 1-year low of $91.55 and a 1-year high of $225.00.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio is 58.82%.

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.