Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Holdings in Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,802 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,742 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Sotera Health worth $10,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 39,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SHC traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.75. 980,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,108. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.72 and a beta of 2.11. Sotera Health has a 52-week low of $10.72 and a 52-week high of $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The company's 50 day moving average price is $13.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.25.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $310.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Sotera Health's revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sotera Health will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SHC shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "d" rating to a "c-" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $15.50 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $1,189,289.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,790,492.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 65.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.