Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Short Interest Down 31.9% in October

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,400 shares, a decrease of 31.9% from the September 30th total of 82,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 22,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESCA. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Escalade by 195.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 43,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 28,503 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Escalade by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 458,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Escalade during the second quarter worth about $15,458,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Escalade by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 126,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Escalade during the first quarter worth about $199,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Escalade Stock Performance

ESCA stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.26. 14,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,750. The firm has a market cap of $183.78 million, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.60 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.61. Escalade has a 1-year low of $12.34 and a 1-year high of $22.01.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $62.53 million for the quarter. Escalade had a net margin of 4.55% and a return on equity of 7.16%. On average, analysts expect that Escalade will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

About Escalade

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.