Advent International L.P. Acquires New Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• Advent International acquired 56,100 shares of ESCO Technologies worth approximately $19.6 million, representing about 0.22% of the company and 0.1% of Advent’s portfolio.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $416.50, despite some rating downgrades to “Hold” or lower buy classifications.
• ESCO reported quarterly EPS of $2.20, exceeding estimates by $0.08, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $339.03 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Advent International L.P. acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 56,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $19,637,000. ESCO Technologies accounts for approximately 0.1% of Advent International L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Advent International L.P. owned about 0.22% of ESCO Technologies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,683 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,399 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter worth $228,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter worth $261,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 19.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 82,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $13,127,000 after acquiring an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ESE shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $413.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $416.50.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $277.23 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.05 and a 1-year high of $362.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $321.76 and a 200-day moving average of $302.28.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.08. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $339.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is 2.64%.

ESCO Technologies Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers' critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO's solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.

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