STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.20.

Several research firms have issued reports on STE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 178.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after purchasing an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in STERIS by 36.0% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in STERIS by 246.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $137,041,000 after purchasing an additional 393,970 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE STE opened at $223.69 on Thursday. STERIS has a 1-year low of $204.90 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The company has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that STERIS will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.15%.

About STERIS

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.