Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. Sells 5,000 Shares

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total value of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 97,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,177,872.38. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Escalade Trading Up 0.9%

ESCA stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.45. The stock had a trading volume of 36,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,405. Escalade, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $11.41 and a 1-year high of $23.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.99 and a 200 day moving average of $17.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.58.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $57.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.60 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 13.11% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.1525 per share. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ESCA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Escalade has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Escalade by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,995,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Escalade by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Escalade by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 12,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.