1,079,365 Shares in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in Vestis Co. (NYSE:VSTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,079,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,818,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $3,909,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $1,697,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $2,675,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $1,700,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in Vestis in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vestis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VSTS opened at $18.90 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Vestis Co. has a 12 month low of $13.83 and a 12 month high of $22.37.

Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $717.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $724.72 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Vestis Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Vestis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th.

Insider Activity at Vestis

In related news, CEO Kim Scott acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.14 per share, for a total transaction of $287,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,127.34. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VSTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vestis in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Vestis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.56.

Vestis 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.