ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on ESAB from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $107.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.90. ESAB has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $137.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.23.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.01. ESAB had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $720.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 10.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,362,164.56. The trade was a 37.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESAB. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in ESAB during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 109.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 259.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 381 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 3,023.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

About ESAB

ESAB Corporation is a global leader in welding, cutting and gas control technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, consumables and automation solutions. The company’s products include welding power sources, cutting machines, torches, electrodes, filler metals and gas regulating equipment designed to meet the needs of diverse industries. ESAB serves sectors such as construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, providing both standard and customized solutions to enhance productivity and quality in metal fabrication and processing.

Founded in 1904 by Swedish inventor Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB pioneered the development of coated welding electrodes, laying the groundwork for modern welding practices.