Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 24,836 Shares of VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in VSE Co. (NASDAQ:VSEC) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,957 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,836 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.71% of VSE worth $33,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of VSE by 4.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,310 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of VSE by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of VSE by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of VSE by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,021 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of VSE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

VSE Trading Down 9.3 %

NASDAQ:VSEC opened at $105.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. VSE Co. has a 1-year low of $73.36 and a 1-year high of $128.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.63 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.95.

VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The construction company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.17. VSE had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $299.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.97 million. On average, equities analysts expect that VSE Co. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

VSE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. VSE’s dividend payout ratio is 48.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised VSE to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of VSE from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.67.

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.