Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $13.22, but opened at $13.52. Sotera Health shares last traded at $14.49, with a volume of 34,056 shares.

The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.45 million. Sotera Health had a return on equity of 48.47% and a net margin of 5.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Sotera Health from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Sotera Health in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sotera Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sotera Health

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in Sotera Health by 86.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sotera Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sotera Health by 728.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 8,248 shares in the last quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Sotera Health during the first quarter worth approximately $120,000. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sotera Health by 23.0% during the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Sotera Health Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 77.37 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.33 and a 200 day moving average of $12.84.

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.