ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• ESCO Technologies has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a more cautious approach from analysts regarding the stock's future performance.
• Despite the downgrade, Benchmark has raised its price target for ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• In its recent earnings report, ESCO Technologies missed EPS estimates, reporting $1.60 compared to the expected $1.65, with revenues of $296.34 million versus expectations of $320.23 million.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Benchmark boosted their price target on ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ESCO Technologies stock traded down $5.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $194.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,966. The business's 50-day moving average price is $190.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81 and a beta of 1.23. ESCO Technologies has a 52 week low of $113.30 and a 52 week high of $201.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $296.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.23 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The company's revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is presently 7.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.7% during the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,316 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 7.5% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 191,034 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $36,654,000 after purchasing an additional 13,392 shares during the last quarter. F m Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 12.2% during the second quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 33,531 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the second quarter worth about $3,744,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the second quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.