ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ESE. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark increased their target price on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

ESE stock opened at $164.75 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ESCO Technologies has a 1 year low of $97.11 and a 1 year high of $171.28.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. Equities analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 7.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESCO Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,907,533 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $387,312,000 after acquiring an additional 32,306 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,054,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $135,950,000 after purchasing an additional 49,577 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 438,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,563,000 after purchasing an additional 13,894 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,634,000 after purchasing an additional 229,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 306,077 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.