43,958 ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 53.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,958 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.49% of ESCO Technologies worth $33,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the second quarter worth $36,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESE shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $413.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ESCO Technologies from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $381.50.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

ESE opened at $256.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $362.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.07.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $339.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.40 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.400 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. Analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 2.64%.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, serving customers in the aerospace, defense, space, utility, telecommunications, and industrial markets. The company develops and manufactures specialized products and systems used in testing, monitoring, communications, power delivery, and environmental control.

ESCO’s aerospace and defense businesses provide filtration, fluid-control, thermal-management, and other engineered products for aircraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and industrial applications.