Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,364,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of ESCO Technologies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,397 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 9.7% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,774 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:ESE opened at $287.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $323.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.23. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $191.80 and a 1 year high of $362.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.08. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 24.39%.The company had revenue of $339.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $413.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.50.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.