Insider Selling: Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Sells $54,912.00 in Stock

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 4,224 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $54,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 105,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,376,492. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Escalade Price Performance

Escalade stock opened at $13.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 3.30. Escalade, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $11.41 and a 52 week high of $16.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.78 million, a P/E ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.29 and a 200-day moving average of $12.88.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $67.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.83 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.26%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Escalade, Incorporated will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Escalade’s payout ratio is 65.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ESCA. Zacks Research raised shares of Escalade from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Escalade presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESCA. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Escalade in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Escalade by 11.7% in the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Escalade by 120.1% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 27,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Escalade by 2.5% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Escalade by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products.