Lakewood Capital Management LP Invests $70.64 Million in Sotera Health Company $SHC

Lakewood Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,979,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,638,000. Sotera Health makes up approximately 3.6% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Lakewood Capital Management LP owned about 1.39% of Sotera Health as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Sotera Health by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Sotera Health by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Sotera Health by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Sotera Health by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 66,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 64,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sotera Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Sotera Health in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sotera Health from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Sotera Health from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

Shares of SHC stock opened at $19.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.35. Sotera Health Company has a 52 week low of $13.09 and a 52 week high of $19.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 40.12%. The company had revenue of $321.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sotera Health Company will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In related news, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $15,725,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,969,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,433,770.50. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 334,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,297,816.36. This trade represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528 over the last three months. Insiders own 15.36% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Profile

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.