Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Price Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.65 and traded as high as $19.20. Escalade shares last traded at $18.32, with a volume of 40,299 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESCA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $253.00 million, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.65 and a 200-day moving average of $16.57.

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

Escalade Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESCA. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Escalade by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Escalade by 3.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Escalade during the first quarter worth $311,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Escalade by 108.6% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Escalade by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

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.