STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.52

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a dividend of 0.52 per share by the medical equipment provider on Wednesday, June 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th.

STERIS has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. STERIS has a dividend payout ratio of 20.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect STERIS to earn $9.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.8%.

STERIS Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:STE traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $206.24. The company had a trading volume of 384,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,610. STERIS has a 12-month low of $185.22 and a 12-month high of $254.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.36.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp began coverage on STERIS in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.60.

About STERIS

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.