Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $206.80 and last traded at $207.46, with a volume of 19965 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $211.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NDSN. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Nordson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.00.

Nordson Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $245.72 and its 200 day moving average is $244.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $744.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.83 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nordson Co. will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Insider Transactions at Nordson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Mcdonough sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.27, for a total value of $59,010.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,081.49. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.75, for a total transaction of $82,657.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,159.50. This trade represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,629 shares of company stock worth $914,400 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDSN. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Nordson by 13.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,533,000 after purchasing an additional 20,217 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 321,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,499,000 after buying an additional 61,430 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 113.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 29,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,661,000 after buying an additional 15,524 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nordson by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after buying an additional 5,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nordson by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 295,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,723,000 after acquiring an additional 13,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.11% of the company’s stock.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.