Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Upgraded to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $15.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $15.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SHC. KeyCorp started coverage on Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a sector weight rating on the stock. TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a d rating to a c- rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.38.

Sotera Health Price Performance

Sotera Health stock opened at $11.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.94 and a beta of 2.16. Sotera Health has a one year low of $10.74 and a one year high of $19.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Sotera Health had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $310.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Sotera Health will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sotera Health news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $1,189,289.79. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,790,492.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sotera Health news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $1,189,289.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,790,492.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $237,465,334.53. Following the sale, the director now owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 65.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sotera Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 7.3% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 39,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sotera Health by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.