Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Shares Down 6.5% Following Weak Earnings

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) shares traded down 6.5% on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $14.22 and last traded at $14.77. 101,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,298,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.80.

The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Sotera Health had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 47.26%. The business had revenue of $285.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Sotera Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Sotera Health from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Sotera Health from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sotera Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.50.

Insider Transactions at Sotera Health

In related news, Director Gtcr Investment Xi Llc sold 10,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.03, for a total transaction of $150,300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,215,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $739,705,974.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 55.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Sotera Health by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 74,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 12,939 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 108,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 24,047 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 12,430 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Sotera Health by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 195,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.46, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.44 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.96 and a 200 day moving average of $13.69.

About Sotera Health

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.