VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $96.09 and last traded at $95.00, with a volume of 271521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VSEC. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of VSE from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of VSE in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.83.

VSE Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 3.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.70 and its 200 day moving average is $83.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 1.60.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The construction company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $265.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.60 million. VSE had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 7.87%. As a group, equities analysts expect that VSE Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VSE news, major shareholder Calvin Scott Koonce sold 15,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total transaction of $1,404,999.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 463,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,543,369.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of VSE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSEC. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the first quarter valued at about $241,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the second quarter valued at about $247,000. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the first quarter valued at about $280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Company Profile

VSE Corporation operates as a diversified aftermarket products and services company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Aviation and Fleet. The Aviation segment provides aftermarket parts supply and distribution; maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for components and engine accessories supporting commercial, business, and general aviation operators.