BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Escalade, Incorporated $ESCA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 524,543 Escalade shares worth approximately $9.85 million, giving it a 3.81% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 65.22% of the company.
• Escalade insiders sold 41,227 shares valued at roughly $872,743 during the last quarter, including sales by CFO Stephen Wawrin and Director Edward E. Williams.
• Analysts upgraded Escalade to a consensus “Strong Buy” after the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.68 per share, far above the $0.16 estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1525, equivalent to a 2.9% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 524,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,851,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 3.81% of Escalade as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minerva Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Escalade by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 567,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,657,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 878 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Escalade by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade during the second quarter worth $1,720,000. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,136,000. Institutional investors own 65.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Escalade

In other Escalade news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 3,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total transaction of $67,987.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $963,000. This trade represents a 6.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward E. Williams sold 30,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.98, for a total transaction of $636,008.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,773,283.26. This represents a 18.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,227 shares of company stock valued at $872,743. 33.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Escalade from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Escalade Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of ESCA opened at $20.87 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.41. The stock has a market cap of $287.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.58. Escalade, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $11.41 and a 52 week high of $23.07.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $57.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.60 million. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $0.1525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Escalade's payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

About Escalade

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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