STERIS (NYSE:STE) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

STERIS (NYSE:STE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on STE. KeyCorp lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.25.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $228.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $212.99 and its 200 day moving average is $226.32. STERIS has a fifty-two week low of $195.14 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,956,107.44. This represents a 4.49% 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 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last ninety days. 1.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in STERIS by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,015,000 after purchasing an additional 59,264 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 38.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.