Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Sotera Health shares experienced a significant increase, gapping up from $11.22 to $13.50 after the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.20 per share, beating expectations by $0.03.
• The company's revenue rose by 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year, with a net margin of 2.24% and return on equity of 41.08%.
• Institutional investors hold 91.03% of Sotera Health's stock, with notable increases in holdings from several hedge funds in the first quarter.

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $11.22, but opened at $13.50. Sotera Health shares last traded at $13.45, with a volume of 355,601 shares traded.

The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 2.14%. The business had revenue of $294.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Sotera Health from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sotera Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sotera Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.00.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sculptor Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 80.8% in the first quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 9,037,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,377,000 after purchasing an additional 4,037,511 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 5.9% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,045,502 shares of the company's stock worth $93,811,000 after purchasing an additional 450,761 shares in the last quarter. TPG GP A LLC bought a new position in shares of Sotera Health during the first quarter worth $79,126,000. Two Seas Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 14.7% during the first quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 3,321,136 shares of the company's stock worth $38,724,000 after acquiring an additional 425,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,143,955 shares of the company's stock worth $43,004,000 after acquiring an additional 673,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company's stock.

Sotera Health Trading Up 5.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31. The business's fifty day moving average is $11.67 and its 200 day moving average is $12.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 185.09 and a beta of 1.81.

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.