STERIS’s (STE) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $260.00 price objective on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $219.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $232.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.79. The company has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its 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 $2.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in STERIS by 7.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in STERIS by 23.5% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.