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

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $275.20.

STE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th.

STERIS Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE STE opened at $216.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $248.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.48. STERIS has a 52 week low of $204.90 and a 52 week high of $269.44.

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

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the sale, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,114,882,000 after buying an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,169,957,000 after buying an additional 260,001 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $637,259,000 after buying an additional 14,151 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in STERIS by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $570,296,000 after buying an additional 120,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,623,234 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,522,000 after acquiring an additional 440,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

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.