Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $206.80 and last traded at $207.46, with a volume of 19965 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $211.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price objective (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.00.

Nordson Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.56.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.83 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total transaction of $749,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,164,576.82. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total transaction of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,629 shares of company stock valued at $914,400 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 70.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Nordson by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Nordson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.