Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) Rating Increased to Buy at 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 report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sensata Technologies from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sensata Technologies from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.08.

Sensata Technologies Stock Performance

ST traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,627,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.02. Sensata Technologies has a twelve month low of $17.32 and a twelve month high of $42.60. The company's 50-day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.84.

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

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Sensata Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensata Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sensata Technologies by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,017,354 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $364,471,000 after acquiring an additional 465,878 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,767,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $267,621,000 after purchasing an additional 44,233 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 14.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,964,077 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $217,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,649 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,639,888 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $161,152,000 after buying an additional 831,702 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,526,941 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $179,087,000 after buying an additional 677,316 shares during the period. 99.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sensata Technologies Company Profile

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.