ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

ESAB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ESAB from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

ESAB Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of ESAB opened at $94.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.23. ESAB has a 1-year low of $93.69 and a 1-year high of $137.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company had revenue of $687.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at $12,362,164.56. The trade was a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 6,787.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,053,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth about $85,692,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth about $69,099,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of ESAB by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,852,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,864,000 after buying an additional 613,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 40.5% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,430,000 after buying an additional 560,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

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.