Wall Street Zen Downgrades STERIS (NYSE:STE) to Buy

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.83.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $243.35. 555,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,907. The stock has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 51.67 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. STERIS has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $252.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $229.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.22.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. STERIS's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 789 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in STERIS by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,128 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in STERIS by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,798 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,836,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in STERIS by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 43,400 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $8,921,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Company Profile

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.