STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $211.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that STERIS will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.74%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. The trade was a 14.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 21.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $737,605,000 after purchasing an additional 629,532 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in STERIS by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after buying an additional 380,504 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,252,844 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $317,621,000 after acquiring an additional 7,840 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in STERIS by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,113,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $246,295,000 after acquiring an additional 46,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in STERIS by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,048,636 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,883,000 after acquiring an additional 85,188 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc (NYSE: STE) provides products and services designed to support infection prevention, surgical procedures, and the manufacture of healthcare and pharmaceutical products. The company serves healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, and other organizations that require controlled, sterile environments.

Its Healthcare segment offers sterilization and decontamination equipment, operating-room products, surgical instruments, endoscopy products, consumables, and related maintenance and procedural services.