Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Upgraded at KeyCorp

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) was upgraded by analysts at KeyCorp from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $260.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.54% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

Nordson Stock Performance

Shares of NDSN stock opened at $207.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. Nordson has a fifty-two week low of $196.83 and a fifty-two week high of $279.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $213.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.84.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. Analysts expect that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Nordson by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nordson by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Nordson in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Nordson by 695.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 18.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.