ESAB’s (ESAB) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $130.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $150.00.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ESAB. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ESAB from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.56.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $98.48 on Tuesday. ESAB has a one year low of $89.41 and a one year high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.62.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.01. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 7.98%.The company had revenue of $687.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ESAB by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,006,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,457,000 after buying an additional 45,841 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $322,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in ESAB by 132.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in ESAB by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,903 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ESAB

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.