Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:ESP opened at $29.48 on Thursday. Espey Mfg. & Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $16.50 and a fifty-two week high of $33.00. The firm has a market cap of $82.25 million, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.15.

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

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Espey Mfg. & Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Espey Mfg. & Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 1.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 86,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics during the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 3.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 111,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics during the second quarter worth approximately $113,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 55.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 8,511 shares in the last quarter. 36.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Espey Mfg. & Electronics

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.