Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Lifted to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $15.50 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $15.00.

SHC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a d rating to a c- rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a sector weight rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.38.

Sotera Health Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:SHC opened at $11.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.94 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16. Sotera Health has a 12 month low of $10.74 and a 12 month high of $19.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.84 and its 200-day moving average is $14.67.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $310.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sotera Health will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In other news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Sotera Health news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $1,189,289.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,790,492.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 65.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SHC. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Sotera Health by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Sotera Health by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 39,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Sotera Health by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sotera Health by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Sotera Health by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.