Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Escalade has an average rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESCA opened at $14.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.69. Escalade has a 12 month low of $11.41 and a 12 month high of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.26%.The firm had revenue of $67.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.83 million. Analysts expect that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Escalade

In other Escalade news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $71,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,305,122. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $26,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,000. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $156,100 over the last 90 days. 28.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in Escalade by 120.1% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 27,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 15,231 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Escalade by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 550,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 12,378 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Escalade in the third quarter valued at $141,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Escalade by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,096,000 after buying an additional 4,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Escalade by 439.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring 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, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.