VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 30.1% from the June 15th total of 822,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 152,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.0 days.

VSE Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $89.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.12. VSE has a 1 year low of $48.47 and a 1 year high of $91.73.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.42 million. VSE had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 2.56%. As a group, equities analysts expect that VSE will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 17th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VSEC. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on VSE in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley boosted their target price on VSE from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of VSE from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of VSE from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VSE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millrace Asset Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,560,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in VSE by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 561,397 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,912,000 after buying an additional 65,495 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in VSE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,285,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in VSE by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 126,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VSE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.