Lakewood Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 3,979,581 Sotera Health Company $SHC

Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,979,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,638,000. Sotera Health accounts for approximately 3.6% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Sotera Health by 11.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 342,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after buying an additional 43,471 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 125.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 14,018 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 319,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after purchasing an additional 12,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Sotera Health stock opened at $19.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 1.77. Sotera Health Company has a 12-month low of $13.09 and a 12-month high of $19.85.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 40.12%. The firm had revenue of $321.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Sotera Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sotera Health Company will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total value of $2,826,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 334,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. The trade was a 30.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $15,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,969,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,433,770.50. This trade represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528. Corporate insiders own 15.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SHC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $19.00 price target on Sotera Health in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sotera Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Sotera Health from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Sotera Health from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sotera Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Inc (NASDAQ: SHC) is a global provider of sterilization and laboratory testing services that support the medical device, pharmaceutical, life sciences and consumer product industries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a suite of services designed to ensure products meet rigorous safety and regulatory requirements before reaching market.

Sotera Health operates through three primary service platforms. Its Sterigenics division delivers contract sterilization solutions, including ethylene oxide (EtO), gamma irradiation, electron beam and X-ray technologies.