Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $15.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $15.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on SHC. TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a d rating to a c- rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a sector weight rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sotera Health from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $19.38.

Sotera Health Price Performance

Sotera Health stock opened at $11.87 on Monday. Sotera Health has a 52-week low of $10.74 and a 52-week high of $19.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 65.94 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $310.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 4.90%. Sotera Health’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sotera Health will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sotera Health

In related news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sotera Health news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $1,189,289.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,790,492.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 65.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 402.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,477,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,022 shares during the period. Irenic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP now owns 2,233,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,039 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the third quarter worth about $7,422,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sotera Health by 75.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,518,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,900 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sotera Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,432,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.