STERIS (NYSE:STE) Receives “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

STERIS (NYSE:STE)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp began coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. TheStreet upgraded STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $226.04 on Friday. STERIS has a 52 week low of $187.07 and a 52 week high of $254.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.59 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $217.02 and a 200-day moving average of $216.04.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.17. STERIS had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that STERIS will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 145,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $32,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in STERIS by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,009,157 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $226,879,000 after buying an additional 32,755 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in STERIS by 3.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 106,346 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,909,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 8.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,235,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.