Stevens Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,863 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in STERIS by 9.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,041 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,747 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,333,000 after acquiring an additional 24,377 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter worth about $1,351,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 5,199.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 65,925 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $14,494,000 after purchasing an additional 64,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

STE traded down $1.26 on Thursday, reaching $201.54. The company had a trading volume of 411,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,475. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.06. The company has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.43. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $180.54 and a 52-week high of $254.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.43%.

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.