Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $10.72

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $10.72 and last traded at $10.75, with a volume of 980611 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sotera Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Sotera Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.70.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.56 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $310.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 4.90%. Sotera Health’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sotera Health will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $1,189,289.79. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,790,492.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 65.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sotera Health during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC acquired a new stake in Sotera Health during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sotera Health during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Sotera Health by 100.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.