Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in VSE Corporation $VSEC

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 71,699 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,383,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.26% of VSE at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VSE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of VSE from $263.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In other news, CEO John A. Cuomo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.49, for a total value of $4,243,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,537 shares in the company, valued at $41,111,027.13. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,431,571.98. This represents a 13.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

VSE Stock Down 1.2%

VSE stock opened at $215.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.58. VSE Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.67 and a 1-year high of $247.85. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 68.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $449.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.03 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%.VSE’s revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. VSE’s payout ratio is currently 12.82%.

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.