STERIS’s (STE) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $260.00 price objective on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on STE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $219.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 0.85. STERIS has a 1-year low of $195.47 and a 1-year high of $248.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.03. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that STERIS will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in STERIS by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 23.5% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 9.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 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.