Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) Shares Up 9% on Insider Buying Activity

Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) was up 9% during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $11.70 and last traded at $11.51. Approximately 1,167,737 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 2,346,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.56.

Specifically, Director James Phillip Holloman acquired 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.93 per share, with a total value of $200,586.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 44,132 shares in the company, valued at $438,230.76. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Corvex Management Lp bought 622,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.43 per share, for a total transaction of $6,491,068.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,591,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $173,052,818.19. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Phillip Holloman purchased 20,200 shares of Vestis stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.93 per share, for a total transaction of $200,586.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $438,230.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 2,470,555 shares of company stock valued at $24,130,861.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSTS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vestis in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Vestis from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Vestis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.40 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Vestis from $20.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vestis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.38.

Vestis Stock Up 9.8 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $705.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.54 million. Vestis’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vestis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at $302,586,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at about $125,586,000. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,529,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Vestis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,431,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vestis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

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.