Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Escalade Trading Down 1.2%

ESCA opened at $15.12 on Friday. Escalade has a twelve month low of $12.53 and a twelve month high of $16.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.05 and a 200-day moving average of $14.99. The stock has a market cap of $208.46 million, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $55.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.44 million. Escalade had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 7.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Escalade will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Escalade’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 2,177 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.16, for a total transaction of $33,003.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,880. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 28.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Escalade

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Escalade by 251.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 9,432 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Escalade by 301.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 14,204 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Escalade by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 127,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,659 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Escalade by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Escalade during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.