Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $256.20.

NDSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of 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. Loop Capital raised shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price target (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDSN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,302,887,000 after buying an additional 93,146 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nordson by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Nordson by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,561,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,803,000 after purchasing an additional 47,052 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nordson by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,455,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,918,000 after acquiring an additional 12,590 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Nordson by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,036,000 after buying an additional 24,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

Nordson Trading Down 2.9 %

NDSN opened at $200.46 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $213.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.35. Nordson has a 52 week low of $196.83 and a 52 week high of $279.38. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The company had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.40 million. Analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

Nordson Company Profile

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.