Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Stock Down 1.7 %

Espey Mfg. & Electronics stock opened at $29.63 on Thursday. Espey Mfg. & Electronics has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $33.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.67 million, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.15.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. Espey Mfg. & Electronics had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business had revenue of $11.61 million for the quarter.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Espey Mfg. & Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Espey Mfg. & Electronics’s payout ratio is currently 40.65%.

Insider Activity at Espey Mfg. & Electronics

In other news, insider Peggy A. Murphy sold 1,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.40, for a total transaction of $29,929.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics in the second quarter valued at about $113,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $476,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 55.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,511 shares in the last quarter. 36.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Company Profile

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp., a power electronics design and original equipment manufacturing company, designs, manufactures, and tests electronic equipment primarily for use in military and industrial applications in the United States and internationally. The company's principal products include power supplies, power converters, filters, power transformers, magnetic components, power distribution equipment, UPS systems, antennas, and high-power radar systems for use in AC and DC locomotives, shipboard power, shipboard radar, airborne power, ground-based radar, and ground mobile power applications.