VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc., purchasing 8,800 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million during the 2nd quarter.
• ESCO Technologies reported Q3 earnings that missed expectations, delivering $1.60 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.65.
• Despite a recent downgrade from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, ESCO Technologies maintains a consensus rating of "buy" with a target price of $187.50.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,688,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 18.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 674 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 88.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 666 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 4.8% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.9% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,617 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,848,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,686 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,477,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ESE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE ESE opened at $214.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $205.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.88. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.45 and a 1 year high of $223.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.30 and a beta of 1.23.

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

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.21%.

ESCO Technologies 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.

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