Steris stays on top

Article Excerpt

STERIS PLC, $229.06, is a buy. The firm (New York symbol STE; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.steris.com; Shares outstanding: 100.0 million; Market cap: $22.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) sells sterilization equipment, surgical tables, and other products and services used in hospitals and laboratories. In the quarter ended September 30, 2021, Steris’s revenue jumped 58.3%, to $1.20 billion from $756.1 million a year earlier. The increase came from stronger sales across all its units as well as from acquisitions. Per-share earnings rose 34.5%, to $1.99 from $1.48. Steris’s $3.4 billion in long-term debt is a low 15% of its market cap. It also holds $383.5 million in cash. The company sells into growing markets fuelled by the needs of aging baby boomers. What’s more, roughly 80% of its revenue is recurring from year to year. That provides a strong base to let it keep innovating to stay ahead of the competition. Steris plc is a buy. buy…