STERIS (NYSE:STE) Stock Moved Down to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on STE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $214.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS has a twelve month low of $195.14 and a twelve month high of $269.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $222.42 and a 200 day moving average of $217.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total transaction of $956,795.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,730,632.90. The trade was a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in STERIS by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $737,605,000 after purchasing an additional 629,532 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after buying an additional 380,504 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in STERIS by 4.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,113,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $246,295,000 after acquiring an additional 46,391 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,048,636 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $231,883,000 after purchasing an additional 85,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in STERIS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 890,562 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $196,931,000 after purchasing an additional 9,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

STERIS plc (NYSE: STE) provides products and services designed to support infection prevention, surgical procedures, and the manufacture of healthcare and pharmaceutical products. The company serves healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, and other organizations that require controlled, sterile environments.

Its Healthcare segment offers sterilization and decontamination equipment, operating-room products, surgical instruments, endoscopy products, consumables, and related maintenance and procedural services.