ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ESAB. Loop Capital raised shares of ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded ESAB from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Capital assumed coverage on ESAB in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.44.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock opened at $117.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. ESAB has a 12-month low of $100.17 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.60.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.ESAB’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 204.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 109.4% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 706.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in ESAB by 1,128.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

About ESAB

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.