Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $279.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NDSN. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Nordson Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDSN traded down $3.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 431,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,078. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nordson has a 12 month low of $201.82 and a 12 month high of $279.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $239.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nordson will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Nordson's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In other Nordson news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Nordson by 289.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 260,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,377,000 after acquiring an additional 193,421 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $692,916,000 after purchasing an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 26,109.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,653 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Nordson by 2.7% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $601,032,000 after purchasing an additional 68,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nordson by 71.0% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,386,000 after buying an additional 65,436 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.