VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $242.54 and last traded at $241.82, with a volume of 530415 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $221.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VSEC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of VSE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $246.67.

VSE Stock Up 9.3%

The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $206.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $200.13. The company has a market capitalization 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 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. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The business had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. VSE’s revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VSE

In other VSE news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total transaction of $1,279,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of VSE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,971,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $288,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in VSE during the second quarter worth approximately $6,782,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in VSE during the second quarter worth approximately $90,000. 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.