Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Sells $111,350.00 in Stock

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total transaction of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 97,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,872.38. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Escalade Price Performance

Shares of ESCA opened at $22.60 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.07 and its 200-day moving average is $17.57. Escalade, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $11.41 and a 12 month high of $23.07. The firm has a market cap of $311.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.58.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $57.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.60 million. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. As a group, research analysts predict that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a $0.1525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Escalade’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research raised Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the second quarter worth about $9,851,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth about $156,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,720,000. Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Escalade in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.