STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

STERIS (NYSE:STE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $277.25.

STERIS Stock Up 5.5%

NYSE STE opened at $230.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.90. STERIS has a twelve month low of $195.14 and a twelve month high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that STERIS will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,114,882,000 after acquiring an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in STERIS by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,169,957,000 after purchasing an additional 260,001 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in STERIS by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $637,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in STERIS by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 120,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.