VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $232.61 and last traded at $228.54, with a volume of 351297 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $216.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VSEC. Citigroup decreased their price objective on VSE from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on VSE from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on VSE from $208.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VSE in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VSE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.29.

VSE Stock Up 4.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 254.49, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.28. VSE had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 1.84%.The company had revenue of $301.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that VSE Corporation will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VSE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio is 44.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in VSE by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in VSE during the first quarter worth $247,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in VSE by 946.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in VSE during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in VSE by 262.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.