Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a "buy" to a strong‑buy, with Zacks also raising its rating and the stock holding a consensus rating of Buy.
• Escalade beat expectations last quarter, reporting $0.27 EPS versus $0.20 expected and $62.56M in revenue versus $57.55M expected, while sell‑side analysts forecast about 0.93 EPS for the current year.
• Shares opened at $17.35 with a market cap of $237.7M, a P/E of 17.53, a one‑year range of $11.41–$18.61, and roughly 65% of the stock held by institutional investors.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ESCA. Zacks Research raised shares of Escalade from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Escalade presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA stock opened at $17.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.23 and a 200 day moving average of $13.56. Escalade has a 1 year low of $11.41 and a 1 year high of $18.61. The company has a market cap of $237.70 million, a P/E ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.28 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $62.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.55 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 5.70%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Escalade by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 567,621 shares of the company's stock worth $7,657,000 after buying an additional 17,429 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Escalade by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,995,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Escalade by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 27,916 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.22% of the company's stock.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.

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