Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Escalade from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA stock opened at $13.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 3.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.76. Escalade has a 52-week low of $11.41 and a 52-week high of $16.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.71.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $67.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.83 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.26%. Equities research analysts forecast that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Escalade’s payout ratio is currently 65.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,000. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $71,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 100,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,305,122. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $156,100. Corporate insiders own 28.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Escalade during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 439.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Escalade in the 3rd quarter worth $141,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Escalade by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Escalade

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.