STERIS (NYSE:STE) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

STERIS (NYSE:STE) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on STE. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE opened at $224.42 on Tuesday. STERIS has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $234.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.73.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.16. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,140 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 237,155 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $53,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $67,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,821 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $242,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.