StockNews.com Upgrades Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) to “Buy”

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Caesarstone from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Caesarstone Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:CSTE opened at $4.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.22. Caesarstone has a 52 week low of $3.50 and a 52 week high of $6.81. The stock has a market cap of $167.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 0.13.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 8.21% and a negative net margin of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $119.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.85 million.

Institutional Trading of Caesarstone

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CSTE. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Caesarstone by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 155,956 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caesarstone by 19.8% during the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 36,291 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 6,006 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Caesarstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the second quarter worth $293,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the second quarter worth $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.70% of the company’s stock.

Caesarstone Company Profile

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.