Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 5.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,067 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in VSE were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AltraVue Capital LLC acquired a new position in VSE during the 2nd quarter worth $48,343,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of VSE during the second quarter worth about $10,326,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in VSE in the second quarter worth about $9,388,000. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in VSE in the second quarter valued at about $4,414,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in VSE by 660.8% during the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 48,310 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,265,000 after buying an additional 41,960 shares in the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VSE Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $116.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.56. VSE Co. has a 1-year low of $57.10 and a 1-year high of $123.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The construction company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $273.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.88 million. VSE had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 7.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that VSE Co. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on VSEC. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VSE to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of VSE from $115.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of VSE from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on VSE from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Calvin Scott Koonce sold 15,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total value of $1,404,999.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 463,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,543,369.72. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.