ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Short Interest Update

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 364,100 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the August 31st total of 341,700 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 129,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Trading of ESCO Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 53,200.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 533 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $126,000. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $127.98 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.95. ESCO Technologies has a 1 year low of $94.59 and a 1 year high of $130.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.10.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.03). ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $260.78 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.