De Lisle Partners LLP Makes New $1.20 Million Investment in Escalade, Incorporated $ESCA

De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 64,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000. De Lisle Partners LLP owned 0.47% of Escalade as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Escalade in the 2nd quarter valued at $156,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Escalade by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC raised its position in Escalade by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 12,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Escalade

In related news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total transaction of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 97,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,872.38. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 3,177 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total value of $67,987.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,227 shares of company stock valued at $872,743 in the last quarter. 33.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Escalade Stock Performance

Escalade stock opened at $21.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $290.41 million, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.58. Escalade, Incorporated has a one year low of $11.41 and a one year high of $23.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.02.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $57.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.60 million. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. Sell-side analysts predict that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.1525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Escalade’s payout ratio is 36.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Escalade currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Escalade Company Profile

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.