Wall Street Zen Downgrades Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) to Buy

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ESCA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Price Performance

Shares of Escalade stock opened at $14.54 on Friday. Escalade has a 52 week low of $11.41 and a 52 week high of $16.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $200.65 million, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.76.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. Escalade had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $67.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.83 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Escalade news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,000. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $71,370.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,305,122. This trade represents a 5.18% 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 in the last quarter. 28.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Escalade by 439.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Escalade in the third quarter worth $141,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.