Short Interest in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Expands By 18.9%

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 368,530 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 309,907 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 342,235 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESCO Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 263.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 154,257 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,939 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $586,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,050,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $205,178,000 after acquiring an additional 158,949 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ESE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut ESCO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.00.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ESE traded up $15.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. The company had a trading volume of 453,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,553. ESCO Technologies has a twelve month low of $145.09 and a twelve month high of $319.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $281.38 and its 200-day moving average is $237.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.32. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 25.28%.The business had revenue of $289.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. ESCO Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.72%.

ESCO Technologies Company 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.