Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $203.10 and last traded at $203.56, with a volume of 13719 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDSN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $237.00 price target (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.00.

Nordson Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $238.77 and a 200-day moving average of $243.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.75, for a total value of $82,657.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,738,159.50. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,928 shares of company stock worth $433,080 in the last three months. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Nordson by 289.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 260,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,377,000 after purchasing an additional 193,421 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $692,916,000 after buying an additional 177,282 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $27,327,000 after buying an additional 103,653 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 2.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 68,810 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nordson by 71.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 157,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,386,000 after acquiring an additional 65,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company's stock.

Nordson Company Profile

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.