ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $187.50.

ESE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised ESCO Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a)” rating on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday. CJS Securities raised shares of ESCO Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ESE opened at $199.56 on Thursday. ESCO Technologies has a 52-week low of $127.17 and a 52-week high of $229.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $212.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.19. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.76% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The company had revenue of $286.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bryan H. Sayler sold 9,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $2,064,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,100. The trade was a 31.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher L. Tucker sold 5,000 shares of ESCO Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total value of $1,100,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,638.15. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,699 shares of company stock worth $4,778,734. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ESCO Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 891,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $188,129,000 after purchasing an additional 183,900 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 882,959 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $169,413,000 after buying an additional 49,173 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,728,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,210,000 after acquiring an additional 398,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 21.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 369,218 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,946,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.