STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Short Interest Update

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 755,600 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the October 31st total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 546,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE:STE traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $219.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,088. The company has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01 and a beta of 0.85. STERIS has a 52-week low of $195.47 and a 52-week high of $248.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % 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 this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STE. West Coast Financial LLC raised its position in STERIS by 2.8% during the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in STERIS by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

About STERIS

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.