VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on VSE from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. KeyCorp started coverage on VSE in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on shares of VSE from $280.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of VSE from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VSE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.38.

VSE Price Performance

NASDAQ VSEC opened at $163.96 on Tuesday. VSE has a fifty-two week low of $138.85 and a fifty-two week high of $247.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $541.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $512.13 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 6.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 91.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that VSE will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Cuomo sold 1,566 shares of VSE stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.49, for a total value of $293,609.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,492,882.79. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VSE

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in VSE by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 31.7% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 5.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,312 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 98.2% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 21,057 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of VSE by 75.7% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

About VSE

VSE Corporation is a diversified provider of aftermarket distribution, maintenance, repair, overhaul, engineering, logistics and other sustainment services for government and commercial customers. The company supports complex assets and supply chains, with activities spanning aviation, defense, transportation and fleet markets.

Through its aviation businesses, VSE distributes aircraft parts and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial, general aviation, business and government aircraft.