Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.00.

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TECH traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.83. 990,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 562,365. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.34.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.