Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ:ESND) Hits New 1-Year Low at $13.14

Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ:ESND) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $13.14 and last traded at $13.14, with a volume of 182,887 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.83.

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESND. BidaskClub lowered Essendant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Essendant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 27th.

The firm’s market capitalization is $497.61 million. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.76.

Essendant (NASDAQ:ESND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.05. Essendant had a positive return on equity of 6.81% and a negative net margin of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essendant Inc. will post $1.36 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Essendant’s payout ratio is -14.47%.

In other news, insider Harry Dochelli sold 4,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total value of $80,549.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,705.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESND. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Essendant by 2.7% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 49,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Essendant during the second quarter worth about $163,000. Aperio Group LLC boosted its stake in Essendant by 60.2% in the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 58,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 21,878 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essendant by 5.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Essendant by 77.4% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. 92.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essendant Company Profile

Essendant Inc (Essendant) is a wholesale distributor of workplace items. The Company’s product portfolio includes Janitorial, Foodservice and Breakroom Supplies (JanSan), Technology Products, Traditional Office Products, Industrial Supplies, Cut Sheet Paper Products, Automotive Products and Office Furniture.