Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Escalade, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ESCA) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 95,900 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the March 31st total of 74,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Escalade from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Escalade Price Performance

ESCA stock opened at $13.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 4.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.88. Escalade has a 52-week low of $11.42 and a 52-week high of $22.01.

Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 29th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter. Escalade had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $65.51 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Escalade will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Escalade Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Escalade’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Escalade by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of Escalade in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Escalade by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Escalade during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products.