Citigroup Inc. Increases Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. by 27.3% during the first quarter, holding approximately 55,460 shares valued at $8.8 million.
• ESCO Technologies reported earnings of $1.60 per share, missing estimates, while its revenue of $296.34 million fell short of expectations but showed a 13.6% year-over-year increase.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for October 2nd, representing a 0.2% annual yield.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 11,896 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of ESCO Technologies worth $8,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 152.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $50,634,000 after buying an additional 229,601 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 18,682.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 107,247 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $17,065,000 after buying an additional 106,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,973,925 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $473,211,000 after buying an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $6,287,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies during the first quarter valued at $5,688,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark raised their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE ESE traded down $0.4770 during trading on Thursday, hitting $190.0230. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 42.80 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $190.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.85. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.30 and a fifty-two week high of $201.72.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $296.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.23 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 10.37%.ESCO Technologies's revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.900 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.040-2.190 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.21%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.