Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $189.80 and last traded at $190.50, with a volume of 143016 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $203.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NDSN. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $237.00 target price (down from $294.00) on shares of Nordson in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Nordson from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Nordson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas lowered Nordson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Nordson from $295.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.20.

Nordson Trading Down 8.3 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $212.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $615.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.40 million. Nordson had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 16.93%. Analysts expect that Nordson Co. will post 10.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Nordson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Nordson news, EVP Stephen Lovass sold 1,299 shares of Nordson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.79, for a total value of $268,620.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,286.13. This trade represents a 15.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nordson by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,533,000 after buying an additional 20,217 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Nordson by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nordson by 113.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 29,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,661,000 after purchasing an additional 15,524 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nordson by 47.5% during 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, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,553,000. 72.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.