STERIS (NYSE:STE) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $269.37 and last traded at $268.9150, with a volume of 240839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, January 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $258.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.28.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. STERIS had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.21%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.55, for a total value of $1,297,021.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,695 shares in the company, valued at $1,466,747.25. The trade was a 46.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.14, for a total value of $3,977,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 33,669 shares in the company, valued at $8,926,998.66. The trade was a 30.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,044 shares of company stock valued at $6,586,218 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,213,521 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,022,114,000 after purchasing an additional 50,393 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in STERIS by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,077,564,000 after buying an additional 166,736 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,479,108 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $592,980,000 after buying an additional 46,859 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $387,797,000 after buying an additional 221,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.