Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) Research Coverage Started at William Blair

William Blair started coverage on shares of Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Free Report) in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VSTS. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Vestis from $20.00 to $11.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating on shares of Vestis in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Vestis from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Vestis from $19.00 to $10.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $16.38.

Vestis Stock Performance

VSTS traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,518,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,908. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.18. Vestis has a 1 year low of $8.92 and a 1 year high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $705.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.54 million. Vestis's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vestis will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vestis

In other Vestis news, major shareholder Corvex Management Lp acquired 1,828,009 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.54 per share, for a total transaction of $17,439,205.86. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 14,973,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,844,203.98. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Corvex Management Lp purchased 1,828,009 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.54 per share, for a total transaction of $17,439,205.86. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 14,973,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,844,203.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ricky T. Dillon purchased 16,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.43 per share, for a total transaction of $201,366.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 58,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $731,343.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,830,779 shares of company stock worth $28,501,849.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTS. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Vestis during the third quarter worth about $1,318,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vestis during the third quarter worth about $2,412,000. CI Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Vestis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Vestis during the third quarter worth about $14,714,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,909,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.