Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Bio-Techne Corp has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" on average by thirteen brokerages, with six holding the stock, six buying, and one giving it a strong buy rating.
• The company reported a 3.6% year-over-year increase in revenue for the latest quarter, alongside an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53, beating consensus estimates by three cents.
• Bio-Techne's board has approved a $500 million stock repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the company's value and an annual dividend of $0.32.

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.4167.

A number of research firms have commented on TECH. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,898,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,537. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.58. Bio-Techne has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $80.95. The firm has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.23.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 129.8% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 5,366,003 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $314,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030,644 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $767,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,954 shares during the last quarter. RGM Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth $59,267,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth $39,658,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 45.7% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,912,377 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $112,123,000 after purchasing an additional 599,982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.