STERIS (NYSE:STE) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from “hold” to “buy,” while other analysts largely maintained positive ratings. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $271.33.
• STERIS beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.59 versus $2.49 expected, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year to approximately $1.50 billion. Fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance remains $11.00–$11.30.
• The company plans to invest about $600 million in a North Carolina manufacturing hub expected to create roughly 335 jobs, although restructuring costs and weaker operating cash flow present near-term risks.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on STE. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday. KeyCorp cut their price target on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.33.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $237.70 on Friday. STERIS has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.48.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that STERIS will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the sale, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total transaction of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 633,530 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $160,613,000 after purchasing an additional 183,680 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,506,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in STERIS by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 209,923 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $53,220,000 after buying an additional 113,070 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in STERIS by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 430,639 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $109,176,000 after buying an additional 134,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 190,483 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $48,326,000 after buying an additional 15,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting STERIS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $275 from $270 while reaffirming an “overweight” rating. The revised target implies roughly 16% potential upside from the referenced share price, signaling continued confidence in STERIS’s earnings growth and medical-equipment demand. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter adjusted EPS came in at $2.59, ahead of the approximately $2.49 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year to $1.49 billion. Growth was broad-based: Healthcare revenue increased 8%, Applied Sterilization Technologies rose 6% and Life Sciences advanced 9%. STERIS fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: STERIS plans to invest approximately $600 million in a North Carolina manufacturing hub expected to create about 335 jobs. The project should expand production capacity and support the company’s formulated-chemistries business over the longer term. STERIS North Carolina manufacturing investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance was maintained broadly in line with expectations. Adjusted EPS is projected at approximately $11.00–$11.30 and revenue at about $6.4 billion, consistent with expected 7%–8% revenue growth. The company increased capital-expenditure guidance to roughly $450 million and expects free cash flow of about $800 million.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was described as modestly below some estimates despite the earnings beat, and operating cash flow declined year over year. STERIS also expects $55 million–$70 million in pretax restructuring charges tied to the North Carolina center, creating near-term cost and execution risks. STERIS earnings analysis

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS Corporation NYSE: STE is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.

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