VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $194.34 and traded as high as $232.15. VSE shares last traded at $223.69, with a volume of 610,392 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on VSE from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of VSE in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of VSE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VSE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of VSE in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.12.

VSE Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $189.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.38, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 6.24 and a current ratio of 8.78.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $324.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.19 million. VSE had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 4.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that VSE Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. VSE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.88%.

Insider Activity

In other VSE news, COO Benjamin E. Thomas sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.82, for a total transaction of $1,279,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,839 shares in the company, valued at $8,431,571.98. The trade was a 13.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VSE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in VSE by 26.2% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 394,499 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,582,000 after buying an additional 81,788 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in VSE by 10.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 346,390 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,489 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in VSE by 12.6% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 314,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,047,000 after acquiring an additional 35,246 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of VSE by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 274,865 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,488,000 after acquiring an additional 27,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of VSE by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 195,915 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,127,000 after acquiring an additional 27,563 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

About VSE

VSE Corporation (NASDAQ: VSEC) is a provider of aftermarket distribution and supply chain management services serving both government and commercial markets. The company’s solutions span a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on defense, aerospace and transportation. VSE’s core mission is to ensure mission readiness by delivering critical parts, maintenance and technical support for equipment throughout its lifecycle.

Through its Distribution Services segment, VSE sources, markets and distributes replacement parts and components for commercial truck, bus, rail and specialty vehicle applications.