StockNews.com Upgrades Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) to Buy

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Caesarstone Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSTE traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 118,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 78,303. Caesarstone has a 12 month low of $3.50 and a 12 month high of $6.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.37. The company has a market cap of $205.45 million, a P/E ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The construction company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.02). Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 12.71% and a negative net margin of 19.05%. The business had revenue of $128.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caesarstone will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caesarstone

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 36,291 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 6,660 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caesarstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 21,632.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,680 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 53,433 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 155,956 shares during the period. 33.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.