Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ESCA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Escalade presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA stock opened at $18.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $249.48 million, a P/E ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 4.28, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.77. Escalade has a 1-year low of $11.41 and a 1-year high of $18.61.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts expect that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Escalade in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Escalade by 439.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Escalade during the 3rd quarter worth about $141,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Escalade by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Escalade by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 3,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

Escalade Company Profile

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.