Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $16.04 and traded as high as $18.77. Escalade shares last traded at $18.5420, with a volume of 59,889 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESCA has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Escalade presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $256.07 million, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.04.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.14. Escalade had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 6.43%.The business had revenue of $55.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.1525 dividend. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Escalade’s payout ratio is currently 54.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Escalade by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,096,000 after buying an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Escalade by 439.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Escalade by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Escalade by 8.0% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Escalade

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.