Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

ESCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded Escalade from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Escalade currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ ESCA opened at $13.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $184.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Escalade has a 12 month low of $11.41 and a 12 month high of $16.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.77.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. Escalade had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $67.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.83 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Escalade will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Escalade news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,000. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $71,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,305,122. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $156,100. 28.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Escalade by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 27,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Escalade in the first quarter worth about $224,000. Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Escalade by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 550,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 12,378 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Escalade in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Escalade by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.