STERIS (NYSE:STE) Earns "Hold" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. KeyCorp started coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $253.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded STERIS from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.60.

STERIS Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE STE traded down $2.28 on Friday, reaching $204.00. 671,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,857. STERIS has a 12 month low of $180.54 and a 12 month high of $254.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $226.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.31. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.43.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that STERIS will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STE. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,327 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,706,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,919 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in STERIS by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 13,523 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in STERIS by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,345 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,525,769 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,786,586,000 after purchasing an additional 143,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

About STERIS

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.