Stock Picks Bob's Advice

Monday, 20 August 2007

VSE Corporation (VSEC)

Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor so please consult with your professional investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PODCAST ON VSE CORP

I did a podcast on this stock tonight and thought I ought to do a brief posting on this company. I do not own any shares nor do I have any options on this stock.

VSEC made the list of top % gainers on the NASDAQ today, closing at $38.93, up $3.68 or 10.44% on the day. According to the Yahoo "Profile" on VSE Corporation, the company is among other things, a military contractor which provides logistical support to the government.

The 2nd quarter 2007 results were solid. The Morningstar.com "5-Yr Restated" financials are solid. The Morningstar.com "5-Yr Restated" financials are excellent showing steady revenue and earnings growth, positive free cash flow, stable # of shares, a small dividend and a reasonably good balance sheet.

Yahoo "Key Statistics" shows this is a small cap stock with a p/e of just over 18. According to the Fidelity.com eresearch website, the price/sales (TTM) is reasonable relative to other companies in the industry, and also on Fidelity, the return on equity (TTM) exceeds other companies in the same industrial group. Yahoo shows only a few shares out short. The company recently split its stock 2:1 on 6/29/07.

Looking at the VSEC "Point & Figure" chart on StockCharts.com, we can see a relatively strong chart above support levels.

With the strong move higher today, the solid earnings report, the nice Morningstar.com '5-Yr Restated' financials page, reasonable valuation, and a solid chart,

VSE CORP (VSEC) IS RATED A BUY

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com.

Bob

Posted by bobsadviceforstocks at 10:46 PM CDT | Post Comment | View Comments (2) | Permalink
Updated: Monday, 20 August 2007 10:47 PM CDT

Comments Page

Wednesday, 22 August 2007 - 6:16 PM CDT

Name: "Balaji V"

Bob: VSEC went up by about 10% since you did the review. Now I am starting to understand the multi-day rally of some of the stocks. On the other hand stocks like CUB fold in a day.

Also, I have a question. Since you bought SAY on 4/20/07, it never moved to your 30% appreciation. It did move in small steps, but ultimately went down (due to stop loss). You have marked it as a HOLD. Does the HOLD mean that when it again raises and in the top gainers list on a day when you have a 'permission slip', will you buy this stock without a blink ?

Thanks - Balaji V

Reply to this Comment

Wednesday, 22 August 2007 - 11:10 PM CDT

Name: "Bob Freedland"
Home Page: http://bobsadvicefofstocks.tripod.com/bobsadviceforstoc

You have made some excellent observations and raised a good question. I lowered my rating on SAY to "HOLD" after initiating a sale which was for me simply on a technical basis--due to the market, my shares had hit an 8% loss. I did not, and still don't, know of any real fundamental issue with this stock. It didn't seem consistent to sell my own shares and leave the shares at a buy---hence my drop to "HOLD" rating.

And yes, I would indeed buy the shares back if I had both a 'buy signal' as well as SAY being on the top % gainers list--that is as long as Satyam was what I would call the best opportunity for me. If there was some other stock that was moving strongly higher that day that seemed to have even better numbers, well I might buy shares in that company instead--otherwise, like I did with Kyphon and other stocks--I would repurchase sales if the time was right.

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