STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.67.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE opened at $211.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $219.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.91. STERIS has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted 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). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in STERIS by 46.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 32.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,015,000 after buying an additional 59,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in STERIS by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in STERIS by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.