Loop Capital Upgrades Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) to “Buy”

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $280.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $255.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price objective (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.25.

Nordson Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $218.07 on Wednesday. Nordson has a 1 year low of $196.83 and a 1 year high of $279.38. The company has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $228.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s payout ratio is 38.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock valued at $433,080. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 26,109.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,653 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nordson by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 65,436 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Nordson by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,499,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Nordson by 437.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 62,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,497,000 after buying an additional 50,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.