Corvex Management Lp Purchases 1,828,009 Shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) Stock

Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) major shareholder Corvex Management Lp acquired 1,828,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.54 per share, with a total value of $17,439,205.86. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 14,973,187 shares in the company, valued at $142,844,203.98. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Corvex Management Lp also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 8th, Corvex Management Lp purchased 622,346 shares of Vestis stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.43 per share, for a total transaction of $6,491,068.78.

Vestis Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of VSTS traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.55. 4,014,338 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,360,555. Vestis Co. has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $22.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $722.54 million. Vestis’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Trading of Vestis

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vestis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $302,586,000. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Vestis during the fourth quarter valued at about $125,586,000. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vestis in the fourth quarter worth about $72,529,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Vestis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,431,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vestis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,292,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VSTS. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Vestis from $24.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Vestis from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $22.00 to $11.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Redburn Atlantic cut Vestis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.40 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Vestis from $19.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.38.

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.