Stephens Reaffirms Overweight Rating for ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $125.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 2.6 %

ESE stock opened at $117.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $107.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.73. ESCO Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $94.59 and a fifty-two week high of $118.60.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESE. Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,226,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 5,817.4% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 212,433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $24,861,000 after buying an additional 208,843 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,328,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $12,377,000. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $9,239,000. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.