Insider Selling: Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) CFO Sells 2,177 Shares of Stock

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.16, for a total value of $33,003.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,880. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA stock opened at $15.12 on Monday. Escalade, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $12.53 and a 52-week high of $16.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 5.20%. The business had revenue of $55.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.44 million. Equities research analysts expect that Escalade, Incorporated will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Escalade during the first quarter worth $4,731,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Escalade by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 127,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 7,659 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Escalade by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 18,560 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Escalade by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Escalade during the first quarter valued at about $305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products.