ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $143.00 to $144.00. The stock had previously closed at $119.90, but opened at $125.03. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. ESAB shares last traded at $120.2270, with a volume of 5,940 shares.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ESAB from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on ESAB from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in ESAB by 3.1% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in ESAB by 0.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in ESAB by 0.7% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its position in ESAB by 1.6% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 8.70%.The business had revenue of $727.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 10.08%.

ESAB Company Profile

ESAB Corporation is a global leader in welding, cutting and gas control technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, consumables and automation solutions. The company’s products include welding power sources, cutting machines, torches, electrodes, filler metals and gas regulating equipment designed to meet the needs of diverse industries. ESAB serves sectors such as construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, providing both standard and customized solutions to enhance productivity and quality in metal fabrication and processing.

Founded in 1904 by Swedish inventor Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB pioneered the development of coated welding electrodes, laying the groundwork for modern welding practices.