STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on STE. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.25.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $230.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.90. STERIS has a twelve month low of $195.14 and a twelve month high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter worth $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 178.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after acquiring an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.