New York State Common Retirement Fund Takes $22.82 Million Position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,079,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,818,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.82% of Vestis at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VSTS. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the third quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,318,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,412,000. CI Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VSTS shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vestis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.56.

Vestis Price Performance

NYSE VSTS opened at $18.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.61. Vestis Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.83 and a fifty-two week high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $717.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.72 million. Vestis’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kim Scott purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.14 per share, for a total transaction of $287,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,127.34. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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.