Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $11.35, but opened at $12.61. Embecta shares last traded at $11.34, with a volume of 254,893 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. Embecta had a net margin of 8.83% and a negative return on equity of 24.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Embecta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.00 EPS.

Embecta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Embecta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Embecta from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Embecta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Embecta in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Embecta

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Embecta by 36.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,195,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,537 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Embecta by 134.3% in the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,342,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,011,000 after buying an additional 769,713 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Embecta by 439.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 709,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,878,000 after acquiring an additional 578,174 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Embecta in the 4th quarter worth about $5,178,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Embecta by 200.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 630,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,496,000 after acquiring an additional 421,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

Embecta Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $677.66 million, a PE ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.97.

About Embecta

Embecta Corp (NASDAQ: EMBC) is a pure-play diabetes care company that was spun off from Becton, Dickinson and Company on July 1, 2021. Headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Embecta focuses exclusively on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of products that enable insulin delivery and blood glucose monitoring for people with diabetes.

The company’s product portfolio includes insulin infusion sets, durable and patch pumps, pen needles, infusion tubing, blood glucose test strips, lancets and lancing devices.