ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Rating Lowered by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $130.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $138.00.

ESAB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.14.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $122.35 on Monday. ESAB has a 52-week low of $76.08 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.73.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that ESAB will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total value of $7,269,395.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,627,789.92. The trade was a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $630,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,429,125. This represents a 30.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ESAB by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 629.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in ESAB by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in ESAB in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.