Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ESCA. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESCA opened at $17.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 4.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.57. Escalade has a 52 week low of $11.41 and a 52 week high of $18.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $62.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.55 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 5.70%. Research analysts anticipate that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.1525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is an increase from Escalade’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Escalade’s payout ratio is 60.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Escalade during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Escalade by 439.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade during the third quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Escalade by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Escalade Company Profile

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.