Short Interest in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Expands By 18.9%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 18.9% to 368,530 shares as of March 31, equal to about 1.4% of the float and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.1, indicating a modest but notable increase in bearish bets.
• Shares jumped to $315.32 after ESCO reported a strong quarter—EPS of $1.64 vs. $1.32 expected and revenue up 17.3% year-over-year—and management set Q2 2026 guidance of $1.75–1.85 and FY 2026 guidance of $7.90–8.15 EPS.
• ESCO has a market cap of $8.17 billion and a P/E of 26.84, while analysts have an average rating of "Buy" with a consensus target of $300; the company also pays a small quarterly dividend of $0.08 (≈0.1% yield).

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 368,530 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 309,907 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 342,235 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:ESE traded up $15.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $315.32. 453,184 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,553. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $281.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.00. ESCO Technologies has a 12 month low of $145.09 and a 12 month high of $319.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.32. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 25.28%.The firm had revenue of $289.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.72%.

Institutional Trading of ESCO Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 141,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,855,000 after acquiring an additional 52,379 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,107 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 311,910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $65,847,000 after acquiring an additional 149,918 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,026 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $18,161,000 after acquiring an additional 32,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,965 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $300.00.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers' critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO's solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.

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