Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stake in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,013 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 98,820 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.18% of VSE worth $22,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VSEC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VSE by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in VSE by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,401 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,601 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in VSE by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 823,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,149,000 after purchasing an additional 29,811 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in VSE in the 3rd quarter worth $394,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in VSE in the 3rd quarter worth $11,016,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSEC opened at $113.89 on Monday. VSE Co. has a 1 year low of $73.36 and a 1 year high of $123.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.24 and its 200 day moving average is $101.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.22 and a beta of 1.62.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The construction company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.17. VSE had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The company had revenue of $299.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.97 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VSE Co. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. VSE’s payout ratio is currently 48.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of VSE from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VSE to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of VSE from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.67.

About VSE

VSE Corporation operates as a diversified aftermarket products and services company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Aviation and Fleet. The Aviation segment provides aftermarket parts supply and distribution; maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for components and engine accessories supporting commercial, business, and general aviation operators.