ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Position Cut by Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,052 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.50% of ESCO Technologies worth $25,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. Quarry LP boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 842.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 3,140.0% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 162 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESE opened at $330.07 on Wednesday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $174.92 and a one year high of $346.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.91 and a 200-day moving average of $262.88. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 24.69%.The company had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 2.69%.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

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.