STERIS (NYSE:STE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.20.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $247.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $256.83 and a 200 day moving average of $250.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.48. STERIS has a one year low of $204.90 and a one year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Julia Madsen sold 5,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $1,312,096.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,710 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,020. The trade was a 31.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.55, for a total value of $1,297,021.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,466,747.25. This represents a 46.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth about $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 178.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in STERIS by 246.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $137,041,000 after acquiring an additional 393,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.