VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on VSEC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of VSE from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of VSE from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $241.44.

VSE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $221.06 on Monday. VSE has a one year low of $123.69 and a one year high of $240.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.27, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 6.24 and a current ratio of 8.78.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.24. VSE had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 4.95%.The firm had revenue of $324.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that VSE will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total value of $1,279,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares in the company, valued at $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of VSE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VSE by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,582,000 after purchasing an additional 81,788 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in VSE by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,563,000 after buying an additional 32,489 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its holdings in VSE by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,047,000 after buying an additional 35,246 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in VSE by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,488,000 after buying an additional 27,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in VSE by 16.4% during the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,127,000 after buying an additional 27,563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.