Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock: Insider Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. Sells 2,000 Shares

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Richard Baalmann, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $42,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 95,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,011,674. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Escalade Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESCA opened at $21.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $292.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.48 and a 200-day moving average of $18.36. Escalade, Incorporated has a one year low of $12.25 and a one year high of $23.07.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $65.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.48 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 10.03%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a $0.1525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESCA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,851,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,720,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,204,000. Northstar Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake 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 valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ESCA. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. initiated coverage on Escalade in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Escalade from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes sporting goods and recreational products. Its offerings include basketball systems, archery equipment, table tennis products, darts and billiards equipment. The company sells products under brands including Goalrilla, Goaliath, Bear Archery, Trophy Ridge, STIGA and American Heritage Billiards. Its products serve both recreational and competitive sports markets. Based in Evansville, Indiana, Escalade serves customers in the United States and international markets through retail, e-commerce and other distribution channels.