STERIS (NYSE:STE) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

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

STERIS Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $217.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. STERIS has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $221.84 and its 200-day moving average is $217.89.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 33.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 1,130.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Meramec Financial Planners LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

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.