ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Stock Has Average Price Target of $381.50 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Five firms collectively rate ESCO Technologies “Buy,” with three buys, one strong buy and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $381.50, although JPMorgan recently lowered its target from $420 to $350 while maintaining an overweight rating.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and other institutions own 95.7% of the company, with BlackRock, Wasatch Advisors, Bank of New York Mellon and Bank of America among recent or expanding investors.
• Recent results exceeded earnings expectations: ESCO reported quarterly EPS of $2.20 versus the $2.12 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $339.03 million. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $8.30–$8.40 and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $381.50.

ESE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered ESCO Technologies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $413.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESCO Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,433,229,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 65.7% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 477,687 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $167,210,000 after buying an additional 189,433 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,365,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,267,000. Finally, Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the first quarter worth $47,439,000. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 0.3%

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $260.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $276.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.94. ESCO Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $362.15.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $339.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.40 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.400 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is 2.64%.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, serving customers in the aerospace, defense, space, utility, telecommunications, and industrial markets. The company develops and manufactures specialized products and systems used in testing, monitoring, communications, power delivery, and environmental control.

ESCO's aerospace and defense businesses provide filtration, fluid-control, thermal-management, and other engineered products for aircraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and industrial applications.

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