Insider Buying: Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) CEO Buys $1,045,265.00 in Stock

Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS) CEO James Barber bought 84,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.37 per share, with a total value of $1,045,265.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 867,222 shares in the company, valued at $10,727,536.14. This represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Vestis Stock Performance

NYSE:VSTS traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.53. 743,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,597,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Vestis Corporation has a 52-week low of $3.98 and a 52-week high of $16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -250.55 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.34.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. Vestis had a negative net margin of 0.20% and a positive return on equity of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $661.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $668.94 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vestis Corporation will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Vestis from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. William Blair raised Vestis from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research lowered Vestis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vestis from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vestis from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vestis currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.66.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Vestis by 1,520.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,688,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,942,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337,380 shares during the period. Greenstone Partners & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,979,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vestis by 1,265.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,960,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,879,000 after buying an additional 1,816,633 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vestis by 571.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,979,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,559,000 after buying an additional 1,684,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Vestis by 1,668.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,630,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,509 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vestis

Vestis Corporation provides uniform rentals and workplace supplies in the United States and Canada. Its products include uniform options, such as shirts, pants, outerwear, gowns, scrubs, high visibility garments, particulate-free garments, and flame-resistant garments, as well as shoes and accessories; and workplace supplies, including managed restroom supply services, first-aid supplies and safety products, floor mats, towels, and linens. The company serves manufacturing, hospitality, retail, food processing, food service, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, automotive, and cleanroom industries.