StockNews.com Lowers Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Escalade Stock Up 1.7 %

Escalade stock opened at $14.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.02 million, a P/E ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 1.22. Escalade has a 1-year low of $12.34 and a 1-year high of $22.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.60, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Escalade’s payout ratio is currently 65.93%.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESCA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Escalade by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 458,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,322,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Escalade in the second quarter valued at about $201,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Escalade in the second quarter valued at about $15,458,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Escalade by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 126,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Escalade during the 1st quarter worth about $199,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.