Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Sensata Technologies from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.08.

Sensata Technologies Stock Performance

ST traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,735,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,841. Sensata Technologies has a 52-week low of $17.32 and a 52-week high of $42.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $22.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.85.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. Sensata Technologies had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 17.54%. The company had revenue of $911.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sensata Technologies will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Sensata Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sensata Technologies

In other Sensata Technologies news, Director Andrew C. Teich purchased 9,925 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.19 per share, for a total transaction of $250,010.75. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 41,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,737.23. The trade was a 31.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,036 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 65,706 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 31,389 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 31,111 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. 99.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions.