Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for STERIS (NYSE:STE)

Needham & Company LLC reissued their hold rating on shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports.

STE has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock traded up $3.69 on Friday, reaching $219.19. 1,071,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. STERIS has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $232.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 0.85.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.03. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 9.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 103,547 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $25,114,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in shares of STERIS by 15.0% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 230,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $54,967,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,931 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $9,200,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth $839,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 35,875 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $8,701,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Company Profile

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.