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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

ESCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Escalade in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA opened at $13.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Escalade has a 1 year low of $11.41 and a 1 year high of $16.99. The firm has a market cap of $192.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.69.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $67.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.83 million. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.26%. As a group, analysts predict that Escalade will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Escalade’s payout ratio is 65.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Escalade

In other news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,490 shares of Escalade stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $71,370.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,305,122. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $533,000. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $156,100 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 28.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESCA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Escalade in the second quarter worth $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Escalade by 439.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Escalade in the third quarter worth $141,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Escalade by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

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.