Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Short Interest Down 18.7% in December

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,610,000 shares, a decline of 18.7% from the November 30th total of 8,130,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Sotera Health Price Performance

SHC traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.48. 694,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,887. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.29. Sotera Health has a 12-month low of $10.71 and a 12-month high of $17.44. The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.91.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Sotera Health had a return on equity of 42.27% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business had revenue of $285.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Sotera Health will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 185,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 32,051 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 154.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 17,652 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $720,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,755,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,026,000 after purchasing an additional 447,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Sotera Health by 169.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 473,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,909,000 after purchasing an additional 298,085 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHC has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sotera Health from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Sotera Health in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.08.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.