Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 263.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,406 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,760 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,171,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,026 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,161,000 after buying an additional 32,069 shares during the period. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $2,911,000. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESE has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $340.57 on Thursday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.92 and a 12-month high of $362.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 24.69%.The firm had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 2.69%.

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.