STERIS plc research snapshot
STE AI stock analysis currently reads STERIS as a high-quality infection prevention, sterilization services, and procedural products business with steady healthcare demand, a record fiscal 2026, rising free cash flow, and a raised dividend, but still not as a fully repaired momentum stock. At the August 2, 2026 data cutoff, the latest verified close used here was $228.40 on July 31, 2026, with a market capitalization of about $22.26 billion. The company reported fiscal 2026 revenue from continuing operations of about $5.9 billion, adjusted EPS of $10.17, free cash flow near $972 million, and fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $11.10 to $11.30. On July 30, 2026 STERIS raised its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, and analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $275 price target on July 28, 2026. The main limits are valuation, tariff and inflation pressure, healthcare procedure volume sensitivity, regulatory exposure around ethylene oxide, acquisition execution, leverage, and a technical setup still below the 200-day moving average. This page is informational research and not investment advice.
Current price
$228.40 close on July 31, 2026
Market cap
$22.26 billion
AI score
70 / 100
Rating
High-quality healthcare sterilization compounder, chart still repairing
Trend status
Uptrend above the 50-day average, still below the 200-day average
Data cutoff (updated monthly)
August 4, 2026
Informational use only. This page is not investment advice.
| Dimension | Conclusion | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Business quality | STERIS sells infection prevention products, sterilization services, and procedural support that hospitals, medical device makers, and life science customers need for quality and compliance, with high repeat demand. | High |
| Moat | Moat comes from regulated sterilization capacity, customer qualification cycles, service density, installed equipment, compliance know-how, brand trust, and switching costs in validated medical workflows. | Medium-high |
| Management | Dan Carestio led a record fiscal 2026 with 9% revenue growth and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, while fiscal 2027 guidance points to continued mid-single-digit organic growth and margin work. | Medium-high |
| Financial trend | Fiscal 2026 revenue from continuing operations grew 8.7% to $5.94 billion, reported net income from continuing operations reached $782.3 million, EPS rose to $7.93, and free cash flow was about $972 million by StockAnalysis. | High |
| Valuation | At $228.40 and GAAP EPS of $7.93, financial_rigor.py calculated 28.80x earnings, 3.11x book value, 22.89x free cash flow, a 4.37% FCF yield, and a 20.46x forward PE on consensus adjusted EPS. | Medium-high |
| Technical trend | STE trades above its 50-day moving average near $213 but below its 200-day average near $235, so the chart shows a recovering short-term trend inside a still-unrepaired longer-term range. | Medium |
| Risk level | Risk is moderate: healthcare demand is resilient, but ethylene oxide regulation, tariffs, inflation, customer capital cycles, acquisition integration, debt, and multiple compression remain material. | High |
| AI confidence | Data confidence is high for reported results, analyst targets, and current market data, while forecast confidence is lower because the share-price path depends on guidance delivery, procedure volumes, rates, and investor appetite for quality healthcare assets. | High data confidence |
| Investment certainty | Investment certainty is medium-high rather than full: the business looks durable and cash-generative, but the stock needs either sustained EPS growth, a better entry price, or a confirmed reclaim of the 200-day average. | Medium-high |
STE AI stock forecast
The STE AI stock forecast uses scenario ranges, not a precise price prediction. The financial-rigor model used the $228.40 cutoff price, adjusted EPS of $10.17, and three-year EPS growth and terminal PE assumptions. It produced a bullish value near $334, a base value near $263, and a bearish value near $177 before dividends. Analyst consensus tracked by S&P Global puts the average 12-month price target at $252.57 with a Buy rating.
$320 to $345
More likely if fiscal 2027 organic revenue grows near the high end of guidance, Healthcare and AST margins hold up despite tariffs, free cash flow funds buybacks and a higher dividend without stretching leverage, and the stock reclaims and holds the 200-day average.
$250 to $275
More likely if STERIS delivers mid-single-digit organic growth, adjusted EPS compounds near the $11.10 to $11.30 guidance, the market values the company around 20 to 22 times forward earnings, and technical repair above the 200-day average continues gradually.
$165 to $185
More likely if procedure volumes slow, hospital capital orders weaken, ethylene oxide or other compliance costs rise, tariffs pressure margins more than expected, or quality healthcare multiples compress toward historical lows.
STE AI technical analysis
STE AI technical analysis uses public market data available at the August 2, 2026 data cutoff. StockAnalysis showed STE closing at $228.40 on July 31, 2026, with a 50-day moving average near $213.36 and a 200-day moving average near $234.54. Barchart listed the 20-day moving average near $217.55 and 14-day relative strength near 60.56, and the stock remained below its 200-day moving average while holding above its 50-day average.
| Level | Value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Current price | $228.40 | StockAnalysis close for July 31, 2026 used for the page snapshot. |
| Near support | $217 to $220 | This area aligns with the 20-day moving average zone near $217.55 in Barchart and the recent breakout zone. |
| Deeper support | $210 to $213 | This is the 50-day moving average zone near $213.35 to $213.36, an important trend floor for the current rebound. |
| Major support | $195 to $200 | This is the lower part of the 52-week range, with the 52-week low at $195.14 cited by StockAnalysis. |
| Near resistance | $230 to $235 | The 200-day moving average sits near $234.54, so the area just below it acts as the first key ceiling. |
| Major resistance | $240 to $245 | Above the 200-day average, this zone represents supply from earlier 2026 trading and the path toward the 52-week high area. |
| 50-day moving average | About $213.35 to $213.36 | Barchart and StockAnalysis both placed STE above this short-term average at the cutoff, supporting the near-term uptrend. |
| 200-day moving average | About $234.54 | STE remained below this longer-term average, keeping the broader trend mixed until a confirmed reclaim. |
| Momentum | Neutral to improving | StockAnalysis listed RSI near 60.56 and Barchart listed 14-day relative strength near 60.56, with 9-day strength near 62.54, neither overbought nor deeply oversold. |
| Volume | Average volume about 0.71M to 0.80M shares | StockAnalysis showed 20-day average volume near 710,597 and Barchart showed 50-day average near 801,834, so breakouts should be checked against normal liquidity. |
| Volatility | Moderate | StockAnalysis listed beta near 0.92 and Barchart showed 14-day ATR near $5.88, or about 2.57% of price. |
| Invalidation | Close below $213 | A decisive close below the 50-day moving average support zone near $213 would weaken the rebound setup and shift attention to the $195 to $200 range. |
STE AI trading strategy
The STE AI trading strategy is a rules-based research framework, not personalized advice. Traders should combine live quotes, the August 5, 2026 earnings date, procedure-volume data, regulatory headlines, margin updates, and predefined invalidation levels before acting.
Wait for STE to hold above the $217 to $220 breakout zone and then reclaim the $230 to $235 200-day moving average area with volume at or above normal levels before treating the trend as repaired.
A failed reclaim or a close back below $213 weakens the setup and suggests waiting for a cleaner base or a post-earnings confirmation.
If STE revisits $210 to $213 or the $195 to $200 zone, compare the move with fiscal 2027 guidance, Healthcare order trends, AST service demand, tariff commentary, and free cash flow before assuming value.
Do not treat a lower price as automatically cheap if the decline is tied to regulatory cost, weaker hospital capital spending, lower EPS guidance, or multiple compression.
Track organic revenue growth, Healthcare service revenue, AST service volume, Life Sciences capital equipment demand, free cash flow, capex, debt, dividend growth, and buyback pace through the August 5, 2026 fiscal 2027 first-quarter report.
Reduce confidence when price appreciation depends more on multiple expansion than on verified revenue, margin, and cash-flow growth.
Investment research summary
STERIS helps healthcare and life science customers keep procedures, instruments, facilities, and medical products sterile and compliant. Customers pay because infection prevention and validated sterilization are mission-critical, repeat, and mostly non-discretionary costs of doing business.
The moat is built on regulated service capacity, customer validation cycles, installed equipment, field service density, brand trust, compliance expertise, and switching costs in validated medical workflows. It weakens if regulation blocks key methods, competitors add capacity faster than demand, or customers accept cheaper unproven alternatives.
The thesis fails if ethylene oxide regulation disrupts sterilization capacity, tariffs and inflation erode margin faster than price increases, hospital capital budgets slow, acquisitions disappoint, procedure volume growth stalls, or investors stop paying a premium for steady healthcare services.
Dan Carestio is guiding the company through a record fiscal 2026, a raised quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, and continued investment in sterilization capacity and automation. Capital allocation quality depends on balancing growth capex, leverage, dividends, and repurchases through the fiscal 2027 guidance window.
Long-term demand benefits from aging populations, procedure growth, medical device complexity, outsourcing of sterilization, and tighter quality systems. The trend is favorable, but not immune to reimbursement pressure, hospital budget cycles, or a slower capital equipment cycle.
The current price implies a quality compounder multiple rather than a distressed valuation. A margin of safety depends on steady EPS compounding toward the $11.10 to $11.30 fiscal 2027 guide, free cash flow conversion, and technical repair above the 200-day moving average.
Source-backed data
Every metric below includes a source and last verification date.
| Metric | Value | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| STE price and market capitalization | $228.40 close and $22.26 billion market cap | StockAnalysis statistics page | August 2, 2026 |
| Shares outstanding | 97.46 million shares outstanding | StockAnalysis statistics page | August 2, 2026 |
| Market-cap verification | financial_rigor.py verified $228.40 x 97.46M shares = $22.26B, with 0.00% variance versus reported market cap | Pineify financial_rigor.py calculation using StockAnalysis inputs | August 2, 2026 |
| Fiscal 2026 revenue | StockAnalysis listed $5.936B, with segment revenue of $4.209B Healthcare, $1.139B Applied Sterilization Technologies, and $588.9M Life Sciences | StockAnalysis financials and statistics pages | August 2, 2026 |
| Fiscal 2026 net income | $782.3M net income from continuing operations, EPS of $7.93, and adjusted EPS of $10.17 per StockAnalysis forecast data | StockAnalysis statistics and forecast pages | August 2, 2026 |
| Fiscal 2026 free cash flow | StockAnalysis listed $972.4M; the STERIS fiscal 2026 release reported $982.9M, and financial_rigor.py cross-validation variance was 0.54% | StockAnalysis cash-flow statement and STERIS FY2026 release | August 2, 2026 |
| Cash and debt | $439.6M cash and cash equivalents, $2.09B total debt, and about negative $1.65B net cash by StockAnalysis | StockAnalysis statistics page | August 2, 2026 |
| Valuation check | financial_rigor.py calculated 28.80x PE, 3.11x PB, 22.89x P/FCF, 4.37% FCF yield, 1.21% dividend yield, and 20.46x forward PE | Pineify financial_rigor.py calculation using StockAnalysis inputs | August 2, 2026 |
| Technical levels | 50-day moving average about $213.35 to $213.36, 200-day moving average about $234.54, 20-day average near $217.55, and RSI near 60.56 | Barchart technical analysis and StockAnalysis statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| Analyst consensus and price target | 8 analysts tracked by S&P Global rate STE a Buy with an average 12-month target of $252.57, a median of $244, a low of $225, and a high of $280 | StockAnalysis forecast page (S&P Global and TipRanks) | August 2, 2026 |
| Fiscal 2027 outlook | STERIS guided to adjusted EPS of $11.10 to $11.30 and 7% to 8% reported revenue growth, with S&P Global consensus near $11.16 adjusted EPS on about $6.37B revenue | STERIS FY2026 results release and StockAnalysis forecast page | August 2, 2026 |
| Dividend increase | On July 30, 2026 STERIS raised its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share from $0.63, continuing 15 years of dividend growth | GlobeNewswire via StockAnalysis news feed | August 2, 2026 |
This STE AI stock analysis is an informational tool based on public data available at the stated cutoff date. It is not investment advice, a recommendation, or a promise of future performance. Forecast scenarios can be wrong, and investors should do independent research or consult a licensed adviser before making financial decisions.
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