ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.89.

ESAB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on ESAB from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,357 shares of company stock worth $567,695 over the last quarter. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in ESAB during the first quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ESAB by 204.8% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in ESAB by 706.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ESAB by 1,128.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $130.60 on Friday. ESAB has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.27.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $633.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 9.01%.

ESAB Company Profile

ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, automated welding, and gas control equipment. Its comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires, and fluxes using a range of specialty and other materials; and cutting consumables comprising electrodes, nozzles, shields, and tips.