Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Research Coverage Started at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Escalade from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Stock Performance

Shares of ESCA stock opened at $18.70 on Tuesday. Escalade has a fifty-two week low of $11.41 and a fifty-two week high of $23.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.13. The company has a market capitalization of $257.50 million, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.52.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.52. Escalade had a return on equity of 13.11% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $57.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.60 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Escalade will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.1525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

Insider Activity at Escalade

In other Escalade news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total transaction of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 97,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,872.38. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Edward E. Williams sold 30,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.98, for a total value of $636,008.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 132,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,283.26. This trade represents a 18.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,227 shares of company stock worth $872,743 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 33.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,851,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Escalade in the second quarter valued at $1,720,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in Escalade in the second quarter valued at $1,204,000. Northstar Group Inc. purchased a new position in Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,136,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Escalade by 108.6% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,012 shares during the period. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Incorporated is a sporting goods company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The company designs, manufactures and distributes products for recreational and competitive sports, serving consumers, schools, commercial venues and other organizations.

Its product portfolio includes table tennis equipment, pickleball paddles and accessories, dartboards and darting equipment, basketball goals, game tables, indoor and outdoor recreation products, and related sporting goods. Escalade markets products under several brands, including STIGA for table tennis and ONIX for pickleball, along with additional brands serving the darting, basketball and game-room categories.

The company sells its products through sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, mass merchants, e-commerce channels and institutional customers.