Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE)

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by stock analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.91% from the stock’s current price.

ESE has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Benchmark raised their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE stock opened at $165.23 on Thursday. ESCO Technologies has a 1-year low of $97.11 and a 1-year high of $171.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.79 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.91%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESCO Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESE. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter worth about $786,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.8% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,047,741 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after acquiring an additional 18,676 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 94,350 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,169,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 70,387 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,874 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

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.