ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $188.29 and last traded at $187.80, with a volume of 127038 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $181.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.81. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.10. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 11.01% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $265.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,973,925 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $473,211,000 after purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the first quarter worth about $90,067,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 152.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,634,000 after purchasing an additional 229,601 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 315,479 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,199,000 after buying an additional 9,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 297,264 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,599,000 after buying an additional 19,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.