Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:ESCA opened at $17.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $240.44 million, a P/E ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.28, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Escalade has a 12 month low of $11.41 and a 12 month high of $18.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.38.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $62.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.55 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 5.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Escalade will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.1525 per share. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Escalade’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio is 60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESCA. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Escalade by 439.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Escalade during the third quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Escalade by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.