Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ESCA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Escalade presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESCA opened at $18.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $249.48 million, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 4.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Escalade has a twelve month low of $11.41 and a twelve month high of $18.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.77.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $62.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.55 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 5.70%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Escalade by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,455 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Escalade in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Escalade by 439.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Escalade during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Escalade by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in 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.