ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Downgraded by Evercore ISI to “Underperform”

Evercore ISI cut shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) from an in-line rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $122.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $102.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ESAB. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Loop Capital raised their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.71.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE ESAB opened at $124.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.72. ESAB has a fifty-two week low of $76.08 and a fifty-two week high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The business had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. ESAB’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that ESAB will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,433 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESAB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in ESAB by 37.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 116,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,836,000 after buying an additional 31,780 shares during the period. Jade Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at $2,211,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 2,277.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 93,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,359,000 after acquiring an additional 89,826 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at $33,811,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in ESAB by 5,764.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.