VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,253,292 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the February 26th total of 1,905,041 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 576,314 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSEC. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VSE by 26.2% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,582,000 after buying an additional 81,788 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in VSE by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,489 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in VSE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,488,000 after purchasing an additional 27,448 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its position in VSE by 2.3% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 135,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in VSE by 1,331.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 59,642 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,304,000 after purchasing an additional 55,474 shares during the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSEC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of VSE from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of VSE from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.71.

VSE Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSEC traded up $11.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.04. The stock had a trading volume of 234,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,875. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 198.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 3.76. VSE has a one year low of $100.53 and a one year high of $231.60.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $301.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. VSE had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that VSE will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. VSE’s payout ratio is currently 44.94%.

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.