Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $256.20.

NDSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp raised Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 price objective (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. The trade was a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in Nordson during the fourth quarter worth about $8,648,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Nordson during the fourth quarter worth about $15,292,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Nordson during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Nordson by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 29,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,083,000 after buying an additional 10,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Nordson in the 4th quarter worth about $672,000. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ NDSN opened at $210.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.61. Nordson has a one year low of $196.83 and a one year high of $279.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Research analysts expect that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

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.