Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) Stock Rated “Neutral” in New Coverage at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

ESCA has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Escalade from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Escalade from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Escalade has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Escalade Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESCA opened at $18.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $256.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.11. Escalade has a 1-year low of $11.41 and a 1-year high of $23.07.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $57.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.60 million. Escalade had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 13.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that Escalade will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Fenton Baalmann, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.27, for a total transaction of $111,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 97,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,872.38. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen Wawrin sold 3,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total transaction of $67,987.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 41,227 shares of company stock valued at $872,743 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 33.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Escalade

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESCA. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Escalade during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $156,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Escalade by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Escalade in the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Escalade by 3.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.22% of the company’s stock.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated is a sporting goods company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The company designs, manufactures and distributes products for recreational and competitive sports, serving consumers, schools, commercial venues and other organizations.

Its product portfolio includes table tennis equipment, pickleball paddles and accessories, dartboards and darting equipment, basketball goals, game tables, indoor and outdoor recreation products, and related sporting goods. Escalade markets products under several brands, including STIGA for table tennis and ONIX for pickleball, along with additional brands serving the darting, basketball and game-room categories.

The company sells its products through sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, mass merchants, e-commerce channels and institutional customers.