Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.14 and traded as high as $13.19. Escalade shares last traded at $12.68, with a volume of 11,464 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ESCA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 4.15 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 0.70.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $67.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.83 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 5.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that Escalade, Incorporated will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Escalade news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total value of $58,992.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 110,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,356,742.26. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 28.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESCA. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Escalade during the first quarter worth approximately $224,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Escalade by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 439.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% 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.