Loop Capital Upgrades Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) to Buy

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $280.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $255.00. Loop Capital’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.17% from the company’s current price.

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

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $220.18 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson has a 12 month low of $196.83 and a 12 month high of $279.38.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The business had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Nordson’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nordson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 130.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in Nordson during the third quarter valued at $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Nordson by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 695.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nordson

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.