STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $275.20.

A number of research firms have issued reports on STE. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 178.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after purchasing an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth about $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 246.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $137,041,000 after buying an additional 393,970 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of STE opened at $250.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75. STERIS has a 1 year low of $204.90 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.27.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that STERIS will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.