STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $276.75.

STE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. This trade represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 46.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in STERIS by 32.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,015,000 after purchasing an additional 59,264 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,372 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 38.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of STE opened at $216.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $220.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.13. STERIS has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44. The firm has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts predict that STERIS will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.78%.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.