Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $10.72

Shares of Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $10.72 and last traded at $10.75, with a volume of 980611 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SHC. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $15.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sotera Health from $19.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Sotera Health in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Sotera Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.70.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56 and a beta of 2.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.16, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $310.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $302.17 million. Sotera Health had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Sotera Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sotera Health will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sotera Health

In other news, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $237,465,334.53. Following the transaction, the director now owns 88,822,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 83,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $1,189,289.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,790,492.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pincus & Co. Warburg sold 16,594,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $237,465,334.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,822,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,271,056,443.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 65.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sotera Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHC. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sotera Health during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC purchased a new stake in Sotera Health during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sotera Health during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Sotera Health by 100.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Sotera Health by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems.