Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $255.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NDSN. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas lowered Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W lowered Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Nordson Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Nordson stock opened at $210.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. Nordson has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.42.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.75, for a total value of $82,657.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,738,159.50. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter worth about $142,670,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Nordson during the 4th quarter valued at $74,005,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 676.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 246,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,539,000 after purchasing an additional 214,594 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,916,000 after buying an additional 177,282 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 693,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $145,135,000 after buying an additional 111,538 shares in the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Company Profile

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.