VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on VSE from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.67.

VSE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $241.82 on Monday. VSE has a one year low of $154.67 and a one year high of $242.54. 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 has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.51, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.13.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.03 million. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The company’s revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that VSE will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at VSE

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 $8,431,571.98. This trade represents a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VSE by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in VSE by 89.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in VSE in the second quarter worth $90,000. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.