48,216 Shares in VSE Corporation $VSEC Bought by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 48,216 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,017,000. Castleark Management LLC owned 0.17% of VSE at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of VSE by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,047,000 after buying an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,474,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its position in shares of VSE by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in VSE during the first quarter worth about $1,276,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in VSE in the second quarter worth about $4,527,000. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total value 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 approximately $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total transaction of $4,243,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,111,027.13. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VSEC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial raised shares of VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.22.

VSE Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VSEC opened at $217.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.74. VSE Corporation has a 12 month low of $154.67 and a 12 month high of $247.85. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.76, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.23.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. The business had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%.VSE’s revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

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

VSE 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.