Granite Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS)

Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,124,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,752,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.86% of Vestis at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VSTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at $19,377,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at $962,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at $30,157,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the 4th quarter valued at $14,219,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new position in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $384,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSTS has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Vestis from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vestis from $12.50 to $13.80 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Vestis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.69.

Vestis Price Performance

NYSE VSTS opened at $15.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.37. Vestis Co. has a 12-month low of $8.92 and a 12-month high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.06. Vestis had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $698.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.33 million. Vestis’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vestis Co. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

Vestis Company Profile

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.