Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Sets New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $17.78 and last traded at $16.8750, with a volume of 73092 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.61.

The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 39.42%. Sotera Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sotera Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sotera Health news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 126,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.38, for a total transaction of $2,073,888.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 450,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,374,341.52. The trade was a 21.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gtcr Investment Xi Llc sold 8,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $120,880,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,215,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $622,763,198.11. This represents a 16.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,126,611 shares of company stock valued at $304,273,888 over the last quarter. 47.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 46,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 9.9% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 15,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 6.7% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 81,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Sotera Health by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 212,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 25,578 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Sotera Health by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 65,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 214.26 and a beta of 1.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.49.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.