Kennedy Capital Management LLC Takes Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of ESCO Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1.1% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 9,732 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 27.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 610 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESCO Technologies news, CFO Christopher L. Tucker sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total transaction of $1,100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 20,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,638.15. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vinod M. Khilnani sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total transaction of $653,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,468 shares in the company, valued at $4,461,819.32. This trade represents a 12.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,699 shares of company stock worth $4,778,734. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESE shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of ESCO Technologies stock opened at $195.49 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.17 and a fifty-two week high of $229.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.27 and a 200 day moving average of $200.56.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $286.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.39 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 25.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 2.77%.

ESCO Technologies Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.