ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) shot up 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $101.81 and last traded at $101.81. 160,746 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 590,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.38.

ESAB Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.03. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.19.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.74 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is 11.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,006,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,457,000 after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,852,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,864,000 after purchasing an additional 613,327 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of ESAB by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,430,000 after purchasing an additional 560,678 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,300,000 after buying an additional 16,466 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in ESAB by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,475,000 after buying an additional 171,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

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.