STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Receives $278.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.25.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock.

STERIS Stock Up 1.8%

STERIS stock opened at $232.54 on Tuesday. STERIS has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $213.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 0.91.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its 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). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the sale, the director owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth about $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 178.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $411,995,000 after buying an additional 380,504 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Company Profile

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.