Brokerages Set Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) Target Price at $278.00

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $278.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NDSN shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Nordson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Nordson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Nordson from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Nordson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NDSN opened at $260.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $266.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.00. Nordson has a 52-week low of $208.90 and a 52-week high of $278.00.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $630.77 million. Nordson had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Nordson will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDSN. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Nordson by 435.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,275,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordson by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,997,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,361,928,000 after buying an additional 850,479 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nordson in the 4th quarter valued at $176,078,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Nordson by 258.7% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 878,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $177,900,000 after purchasing an additional 633,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordson by 2,094.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 469,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,678,000 after buying an additional 448,382 shares during the period. 72.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordson Company Profile

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.