Wall Street Zen Upgrades Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) to “Strong-Buy”

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ESCA. Zacks Research cut shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Escalade stock opened at $14.11 on Friday. Escalade has a fifty-two week low of $11.41 and a fifty-two week high of $16.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $194.72 million, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $71,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 100,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,122. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $26,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,000. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $156,100 over the last three months. 28.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Escalade by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,455 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Escalade by 439.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Escalade in the 3rd quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

About Escalade

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.