STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

STERIS (NYSE:STE) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Sunday.

STE has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $263.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STE opened at $250.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30 and a beta of 0.95. STERIS has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940 in the last quarter. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 2.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,376 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new position in STERIS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,204 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in STERIS by 49.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 159,864 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $38,402,000 after purchasing an additional 52,746 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 64.7% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 19,416 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,664,000 after purchasing an additional 7,630 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About STERIS

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.