Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,111 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in STERIS by 423.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 342.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the third quarter worth $29,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $215.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $218.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.13. The stock has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.