STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.20.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $225.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.48. STERIS has a 52 week low of $209.98 and a 52 week high of $269.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $231.05 and a 200-day moving average of $245.98.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that STERIS will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in STERIS in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 423.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Company Profile

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.