Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $14.22 and traded as high as $18.86. Escalade shares last traded at $18.53, with a volume of 20,153 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ESCA. Zacks Research raised shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Escalade has an average rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.22. The company has a market cap of $253.86 million, a P/E ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.28 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.07. Escalade had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The company had revenue of $62.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.55 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were given a dividend of $0.1525 per share. This is a positive change from Escalade’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESCA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 439.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the third quarter worth about $141,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 3,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

Escalade Company Profile

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.