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

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ESAB. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital started coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.89.

ESAB Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $121.97 on Friday. ESAB has a 1 year low of $100.17 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.02 and its 200-day moving average is $119.58. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.23.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total value of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Durable Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,067,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in ESAB during the second quarter worth approximately $83,814,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ESAB by 42.0% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,929,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,740,000 after purchasing an additional 570,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 101.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 880,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,605,000 after acquiring an additional 443,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter worth about $36,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Company Profile

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.