STERIS (NYSE:STE) Raised to Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $260.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $230.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $224.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.67 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.34. STERIS has a 1 year low of $195.47 and a 1 year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that STERIS will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of STERIS by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after acquiring an additional 120,616 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in STERIS by 23.5% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 0.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,017,888 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $223,467,000 after purchasing an additional 8,601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.