ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Rating Lowered to “Underperform” at Evercore ISI

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) was downgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $122.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $102.00. Evercore ISI’s target price indicates a potential downside of 3.53% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.71.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $126.47 on Wednesday. ESAB has a fifty-two week low of $76.08 and a fifty-two week high of $135.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ESAB will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in ESAB by 11.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,424,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,316,000 after acquiring an additional 653,377 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at $33,811,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 3rd quarter worth $15,110,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 6.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,196,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,512,000 after buying an additional 127,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 2,277.5% in the first 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. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.