VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Shares Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC)’s stock price traded down 6.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $178.28 and last traded at $175.7620. 56,430 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 535,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of 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. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of VSE in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of VSE from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.22.

VSE Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 3.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $209.05 and a 200-day moving average of $200.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.24.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. VSE had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VSE Corporation will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total value of $293,609.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,545,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in VSE by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in VSE by 158.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 129 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $177,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of VSE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,923,000. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC) is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, logistics, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and engineering services. The company primarily serves the U.S. government, commercial aviation operators, aerospace manufacturers, and fleet customers through specialized operating businesses.

VSE’s Federal and Defense operations support the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies with supply-chain management, equipment sustainment, modernization, engineering, and logistics services.