Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 857.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 469 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VSE were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VSEC. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of VSE by 21.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,708,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in VSE by 711.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,770 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 35,744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VSE by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,719 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,669,000 after purchasing an additional 42,637 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VSE in the third quarter worth $155,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VSE by 121.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 325,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,801,000 after purchasing an additional 178,435 shares in the last quarter. 91.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VSE Stock Up 5.2 %

VSEC opened at $113.70 on Friday. VSE Co. has a 1-year low of $73.36 and a 1-year high of $128.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 136.99 and a beta of 1.32.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released 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 return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $299.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.97 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that VSE Co. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 48.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VSEC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on VSE from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VSE to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.00.

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.