Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $15.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $15.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Sotera Health from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday, March 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a sector weight rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Sotera Health from a d rating to a c- rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $19.38.

Sotera Health Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SHC opened at $11.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.84 and its 200 day moving average is $14.67. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.94 and a beta of 2.16. Sotera Health has a 52 week low of $10.74 and a 52 week high of $19.40.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $310.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 4.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sotera Health will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sotera Health

In related news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the sale, the director now owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sotera Health news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $1,189,289.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,790,492.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 65.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sotera Health in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC purchased a new position in Sotera Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sotera Health in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sotera Health by 100.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Sotera Health by 428.9% in the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.