ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $93.10 and last traded at $95.5330, with a volume of 539209 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ESAB. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

ESAB Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $118.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.52.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 7.98%.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 business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in ESAB by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth about $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 25.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 458,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,396,000 after purchasing an additional 94,335 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 26.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in ESAB by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.