Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Rating Lowered to Neutral at BNP Paribas

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $219.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.87% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on NDSN. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price objective (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.25.

Nordson Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $214.98 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.61. Nordson has a 12 month low of $196.83 and a 12 month high of $279.38. The firm has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at $142,670,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,005,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 676.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 246,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,539,000 after purchasing an additional 214,594 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nordson by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after buying an additional 177,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Nordson by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 693,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $145,135,000 after buying an additional 111,538 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.