Zacks Research Upgrades Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) to “Strong-Buy”

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ESCA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Escalade to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ESCA stock opened at $13.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.06 million, a P/E ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.76. Escalade has a twelve month low of $11.41 and a twelve month high of $16.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Escalade

In related news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $26,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $533,000. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were 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 $1,305,122. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $156,100. 28.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Escalade by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15,231 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Escalade by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC raised its position in Escalade by 2.3% during the third quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 550,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 12,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Escalade by 8.0% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

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.