GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,670 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Vestis were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VSTS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vestis by 223.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591,593 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vestis by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,631,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,413 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vestis by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 2,330,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,719,000 after buying an additional 430,555 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vestis by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,156,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,136,000 after buying an additional 192,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Vestis by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,541,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,854,000 after buying an additional 8,997 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vestis Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of VSTS stock opened at $15.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.29. Vestis Co. has a 12-month low of $8.92 and a 12-month high of $22.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $684.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.54 million. Vestis had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 0.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Vestis Co. will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Vestis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VSTS shares. Barclays raised their price target on Vestis from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vestis from $13.60 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vestis from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vestis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.08.

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.