STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on STE. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $238.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.88. STERIS has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last 90 days. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in STERIS by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 174 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,261 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.