VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Trading Down 8.6% – Here’s Why

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC)’s stock price dropped 8.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $161.61 and last traded at $161.0280. Approximately 442,460 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 642,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSEC has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of VSE from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VSE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of VSE from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $222.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.29.

VSE Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 179.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $201.71 and its 200-day moving average is $190.31.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $301.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.55 million. VSE had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VSE by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in VSE in the first quarter valued at about $247,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in VSE by 946.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. bought a new position in VSE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of VSE by 262.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

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.