STERIS (NYSE:STE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.20.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $219.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $242.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.48. STERIS has a one year low of $204.90 and a one year high of $269.44. The firm has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 1.05.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STERIS will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in STERIS by 423.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

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.