STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $239.60.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STE. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 0.7% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,327 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in STERIS by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,919 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in STERIS by 8.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 13,523 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in STERIS by 24.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,345 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,525,769 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,786,586,000 after acquiring an additional 143,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $200.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $225.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.83. STERIS has a 1-year low of $180.54 and a 1-year high of $254.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 36.43%.

About STERIS

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.