ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Given New $138.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) had its price objective lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $158.00 to $138.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm restated 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.33.

ESAB Trading Up 9.0%

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $103.17 on Wednesday. ESAB has a 52-week low of $89.41 and a 52-week high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.34.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.01. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 7.98%.The business had revenue of $687.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at $12,362,164.56. This trade represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ESAB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,006,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,457,000 after purchasing an additional 45,841 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ESAB by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,300,000 after acquiring an additional 16,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in ESAB by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,181,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,008,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.