STERIS plc Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.57 (NYSE:STE)

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.57 per share by the medical equipment provider on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%.

STERIS has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.5% per year over the last three years. STERIS has a dividend payout ratio of 20.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect STERIS to earn $10.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.7%.

STERIS Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of STE traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $221.28. The company had a trading volume of 359,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,130. STERIS has a 52 week low of $197.82 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.52 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $211.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.77.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. STERIS’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.50.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About STERIS

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.