ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $319.14 and last traded at $318.1990, with a volume of 453184 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $314.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $300.00.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.14.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.32. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $289.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $10,212,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 263.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,907 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 154,257 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.