Ritholtz Wealth Management Invests $305,000 in Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA)

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management owned approximately 0.15% of Escalade at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESCA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 250.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 27,223.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,717 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 149.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 7,927 shares in the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Escalade Stock Performance

NASDAQ ESCA opened at $13.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $191.68 million, a P/E ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 4.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.94. Escalade, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $12.54 and a fifty-two week high of $16.99.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $55.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.44 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Escalade, Incorporated will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,177 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.16, for a total transaction of $33,003.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,880. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 28.75% of the company’s stock.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products.