Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $255.75.

NDSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $285.00 target price on Nordson in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Nordson in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nordson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Nordson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd.

Nordson Price Performance

Shares of NDSN opened at $229.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $228.93 and its 200-day moving average is $216.11. Nordson has a one year low of $165.03 and a one year high of $266.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Nordson had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The firm had revenue of $646.86 million during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Nordson will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This is an increase from Nordson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Nordson’s payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,200. This trade represents a 25.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordson by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,200,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,329,295,000 after purchasing an additional 22,090 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Nordson by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,958,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $636,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133,229 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Nordson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,867,000 after buying an additional 90,704 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Nordson by 4.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,068,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $228,993,000 after buying an additional 48,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 15.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,043,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,536,000 after buying an additional 142,991 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.