Analysts Set Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Target Price at $17.70

Shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.70.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SHC shares. Citigroup upgraded Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Sotera Health from $19.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp started coverage on Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sotera Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $15.00 to $15.50 in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Transactions at Sotera Health

In other news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the sale, the director now owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $1,189,289.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,790,492.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of Sotera Health stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 55.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Sotera Health in the third quarter valued at $58,000. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Sotera Health by 23.0% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sotera Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $139,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Sotera Health by 20.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new position in Sotera Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

NASDAQ SHC opened at $11.20 on Friday. Sotera Health has a 1-year low of $10.71 and a 1-year high of $19.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.22 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $310.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 4.90%. Sotera Health’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sotera Health will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.