Dean Capital Management Raises Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 74.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,120 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,683 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 2,896 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,399 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the first quarter worth about $228,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 82,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $13,127,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:ESE opened at $327.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $320.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.23. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.92 and a twelve month high of $362.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.69%.

ESCO Technologies Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.