ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Benchmark

Analysts at Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.85% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Stephens boosted their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ESE opened at $127.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.96 and a 200-day moving average of $113.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. ESCO Technologies has a 52 week low of $94.59 and a 52 week high of $130.89.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.03). ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $260.78 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ESCO Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,895,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $309,955,000 after acquiring an additional 15,801 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,372,850 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $144,204,000 after acquiring an additional 16,152 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,215,101 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $130,077,000 after acquiring an additional 69,500 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,029,065 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $108,093,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 277.5% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 395,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,539,000 after acquiring an additional 290,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.