Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Rating Increased to Buy at Loop Capital

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Loop Capital currently has $280.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $255.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W cut shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.25.

Nordson Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $219.41 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $229.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.13. Nordson has a 12-month low of $196.83 and a 12-month high of $279.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. Nordson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nordson will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at $862,081.49. This trade represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Nordson by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Nordson by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 64,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,507,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nordson Company Profile

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.