ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Sold by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 295,820 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 151,257 shares during the quarter. ESCO Technologies accounts for approximately 2.4% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $78,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,424 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $526,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 35.1% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,119 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 41.9% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,440 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 6.9% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $240.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.53. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $362.15.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.08. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $339.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $413.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ESCO Technologies from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.50.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified technology company that develops and manufactures specialized products and systems for the aerospace, defense, space, utility, telecommunications and other industrial markets. Its offerings are designed for applications involving electromagnetic compatibility, radio-frequency testing, filtration, fluid control, power transmission and infrastructure monitoring.

Through its aerospace and defense businesses, ESCO provides test systems, antennas, telemetry equipment, RF shielding and environmental testing products used to evaluate aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, defense systems and other complex electronic equipment.