Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Escalade has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Escalade Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of ESCA opened at $22.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $311.11 million, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.58. Escalade has a 12-month low of $11.41 and a 12-month high of $23.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.54.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $57.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.60 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 13.11% and a net margin of 9.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Escalade will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Escalade

In related news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 3,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total value of $67,987.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $963,000. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total transaction of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 97,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,177,872.38. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 33.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Escalade by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Escalade by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,995,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Escalade by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Escalade by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 12,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.