ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 287,400 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 272,300 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 111,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stephens upped their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of ESCO Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 55.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,125 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 70,387 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,874 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,372,850 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $144,204,000 after purchasing an additional 16,152 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $942,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 53.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after buying an additional 4,526 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE ESE opened at $131.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.91. ESCO Technologies has a one year low of $96.69 and a one year high of $154.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38 and a beta of 1.11.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 8.12%.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.