BNP Paribas Downgrades Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) to Neutral

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) was downgraded by research analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $219.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.87% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 price target (down previously from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W cut Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.25.

Nordson Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:NDSN opened at $214.98 on Monday. Nordson has a 12 month low of $196.83 and a 12 month high of $279.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. The firm had revenue of $615.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.40 million. Analysts expect that Nordson will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,286.13. This represents a 15.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nordson

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,226,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,302,887,000 after acquiring an additional 93,146 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Nordson by 7.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,638,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,916,000 after acquiring an additional 177,282 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nordson by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,561,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,803,000 after buying an additional 47,052 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,455,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,918,000 after acquiring an additional 12,590 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 860,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,036,000 after purchasing an additional 24,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

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.