Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) of 5,995 shares valued at approximately $1.17 million, and overall institutional ownership of the stock stands at about 95.70%.
• Analyst consensus is a "Buy" with an average target price of $275; Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $350 target, and the analyst mix is 1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, and 1 Hold.
• ESCO beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.64 (vs. $1.32 expected) and revenue of $289.66M (up 17.3% y/y), and it provided Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $1.75–1.85 and FY2026 guidance of $7.90–8.15.

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,171,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,893,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 9,553 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 140,255 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,404,000 after buying an additional 55,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,996,000 after buying an additional 7,226 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings cut ESCO Technologies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. CJS Securities upgraded ESCO Technologies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded ESCO Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $275.00.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $308.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.38 and a fifty-two week high of $309.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $270.94 and a 200-day moving average of $232.26.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $289.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $289.30 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 25.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.72%.

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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