Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ESCA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Trading Down 0.2%

Escalade stock opened at $19.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $274.54 million, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.59. Escalade has a 1-year low of $11.41 and a 1-year high of $21.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.59.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.14. Escalade had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The business had revenue of $55.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.80 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Escalade will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Escalade by 439.0% in 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 last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Escalade in the 3rd quarter valued at about $141,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Escalade by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Escalade by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 3,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

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.