Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ESCA. Zacks Research upgraded Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Trading Down 1.1%

ESCA opened at $17.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 4.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.56. Escalade has a one year low of $11.41 and a one year high of $18.61. The stock has a market cap of $237.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $62.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.55 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 5.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESCA. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Escalade by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after buying an additional 4,455 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new position in Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Escalade by 439.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Escalade in the 3rd quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

About Escalade

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.