Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Edward Williams Sells 2,373 Shares of Stock

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Director Edward Williams sold 2,373 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.99, for a total value of $49,809.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 129,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,717,197.48. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Escalade Trading Up 0.8%

Escalade stock traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $20.82. 41,489 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,303. Escalade, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $11.41 and a 1 year high of $23.07. The firm has a market cap of $286.69 million, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.71.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.52. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $57.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.60 million. As a group, analysts predict that Escalade, Incorporated will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Escalade Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.1525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESCA shares. Zacks Research raised Escalade from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Escalade from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Escalade

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Escalade by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 221,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,455 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Escalade in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Escalade by 439.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Escalade by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Escalade by 2.5% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Escalade Company Profile

Escalade, Inc is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of recreational equipment and specialty products for both consumer and commercial markets. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates through two principal business segments: Sporting Goods and Commercial Products. The Sporting Goods segment encompasses a diverse range of products such as hockey and lacrosse goal assemblies, fitness accessories, archery and hunting gear, and table tennis equipment. The Commercial Products segment focuses on seating solutions for restaurants, hospitality venues and other public spaces under the Top Seat brand, as well as storage, display products and industrial carts.

Within Sporting Goods, Escalade markets its products under proprietary brands including Bear® Archery, Gene St.