Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,984 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vestis were worth $906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Vestis by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,096,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,717,000 after acquiring an additional 188,661 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Vestis by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $520,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vestis by 689.7% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 160,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 140,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Vestis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vestis from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vestis from $13.60 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vestis from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vestis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.08.

Vestis Price Performance

Vestis stock opened at $11.84 on Monday. Vestis Co. has a one year low of $8.92 and a one year high of $19.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.83. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.02 and a beta of 1.16.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Vestis had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 0.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vestis Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Vestis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.00%.

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.