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

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $240.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on STE. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $225.44 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS has a 52-week low of $197.82 and a 52-week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in STERIS by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 171.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after purchasing an additional 529,308 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 24.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in STERIS by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,949,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.