Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ESCA. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Escalade in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Escalade from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Escalade currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Trading Up 6.3%

NASDAQ:ESCA opened at $20.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.12. The company has a market cap of $288.34 million, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.52. Escalade has a twelve month low of $11.49 and a twelve month high of $23.07.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.14. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $65.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.48 million. On average, analysts expect that Escalade will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $0.1525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Escalade’s payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total value of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 97,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,872.38. This represents 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, Director Edward Williams sold 30,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.98, for a total transaction of $636,008.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 132,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,773,283.26. This represents a 18.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,050 shares of company stock worth $804,755. Corporate insiders own 33.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Escalade by 2,074.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,204,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,851,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,720,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Inc is a sporting goods manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The company develops, manufactures and markets products for recreational and competitive sports, with a focus on indoor and outdoor activities.

Its product portfolio includes table tennis equipment, pickleball and other game-related products, archery equipment, darts, billiards, game-room furnishings, and outdoor recreation products. Escalade sells products under a variety of established brands, including STIGA, Onix, Accudart, Victory Tailgate, Harrows and Unicorn, as well as through private-label offerings.

Escalade serves sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, mass merchants, e-commerce channels and institutional customers in the United States and international markets.