Zacks: Escalade, Inc. (ESCA) Given Average Rating of “Strong Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Escalade, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESCA) have been assigned a consensus broker rating score of 1.00 (Strong Buy) from the two brokers that provide coverage for the stock, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a strong buy recommendation.

Brokerages have set a 12 month consensus price objective of $16.50 for the company and are forecasting that the company will post $0.09 earnings per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also given Escalade an industry rank of 30 out of 265 based on the ratings given to related companies.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESCA. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Escalade by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 40,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 16,575 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Escalade by 7.2% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 129,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Escalade by 9.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 130,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after buying an additional 11,654 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Escalade by 0.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 317,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Escalade by 2.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 381,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,184,000 after buying an additional 10,556 shares during the period. 26.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) opened at $13.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $199.08, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.16. Escalade has a fifty-two week low of $11.31 and a fifty-two week high of $14.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.11, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $48.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.00 million. Escalade had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 10.43%. equities research analysts anticipate that Escalade will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 9th. This is an increase from Escalade’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated (Escalade) is a manufacturer and distributor of sporting goods through its subsidiary Escalade Sports. The Company operates in Sporting Goods (Escalade Sports) segment. Escalade Sports manufactures, imports and distributes sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation and fitness products through sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, key online retailers, traditional department stores and mass merchants.

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