VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $205.84 and last traded at $206.13, with a volume of 54699 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $201.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VSEC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VSE from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley upped their price objective on VSE from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on VSE in a research note on Monday, September 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on VSE in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.29.

VSE Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 307.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.05.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The construction company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.15. VSE had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 1.23%.The business had revenue of $282.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.48 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in VSE by 29.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at $498,000. Argent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VSE in the 3rd quarter valued at $887,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in shares of VSE by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 132,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,344,000 after buying an additional 61,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of VSE by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 188,612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,704,000 after buying an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Company 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.