ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Sunday.

ESE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research raised ESCO Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of ESCO Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESCO Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ESE stock opened at $268.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 1.22. ESCO Technologies has a one year low of $134.78 and a one year high of $291.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $289.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.30 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 25.28%.The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESCO Technologies news, CEO Bryan H. Sayler sold 9,382 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $2,064,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,100. The trade was a 31.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vinod M. Khilnani sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total transaction of $653,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,461,819.32. This represents a 12.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,699 shares of company stock worth $4,778,734. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESCO Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 97,963,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,938,911 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $574,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938,908 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 345.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 707,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $135,699,000 after buying an additional 548,600 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,429,000 after buying an additional 458,980 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,210,000 after acquiring an additional 398,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 311,910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $65,847,000 after acquiring an additional 149,918 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.