ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $138.2222.

ESAB has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st.

ESAB Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:ESAB opened at $101.01 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $103.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.59. ESAB has a 52 week low of $89.41 and a 52 week high of $137.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.24.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.74 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ESAB will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.83%.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 6,787.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,053,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth $85,692,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth $69,099,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,852,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,864,000 after acquiring an additional 613,327 shares during the period. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 40.5% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,430,000 after acquiring an additional 560,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Company Profile

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.