ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $230.00 and last traded at $229.6250, with a volume of 113660 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $223.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. CJS Securities upgraded ESCO Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised ESCO Technologies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 2.9%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.41. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.19. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.76% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $286.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.800 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vinod M. Khilnani sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total value of $653,970.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,461,819.32. This represents a 12.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Phillippy sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.53, for a total value of $823,361.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,450,673.07. This represents a 36.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,699 shares of company stock worth $4,778,734. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 118.5% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.