ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) to Issue $0.08 Quarterly Dividend

ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, January 17th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd.

ESCO Technologies has a payout ratio of 6.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect ESCO Technologies to earn $4.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.5%.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 3.1 %

ESCO Technologies stock traded up $4.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.30. The company had a trading volume of 304,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,155. ESCO Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $96.69 and a fifty-two week high of $154.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.87 and its 200-day moving average is $116.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESE. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday. Stephens lifted their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th.

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.