First Trust Advisors LP Buys New Position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,505,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,936,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.14% of Vestis as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Vestis by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Vestis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 45,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Vestis by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Vestis by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 232,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vestis by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Vestis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VSTS opened at $8.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.51 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.80. Vestis Co. has a fifty-two week low of $7.35 and a fifty-two week high of $18.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.36.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Vestis had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 0.34%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vestis Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Vestis’s payout ratio is 175.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VSTS. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Vestis from $17.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Vestis from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Vestis from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.08.

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.