VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,067 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of VSE worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSEC. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in VSE in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of VSE by 1,180.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of VSE during the second quarter worth about $247,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in VSE by 13.8% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in VSE by 22.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,521 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on VSE from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on VSE from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of VSE from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of VSE to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of VSE in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VSE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.83.

VSE Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of VSE stock opened at $116.98 on Friday. VSE Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.10 and a fifty-two week high of $123.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VSE

In related news, major shareholder Calvin Scott Koonce sold 15,300 shares of VSE stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total transaction of $1,404,999.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 463,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,543,369.72. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 14.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VSE Profile

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.