ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 733,280 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 173% from the previous session’s volume of 269,049 shares.The stock last traded at $107.33 and had previously closed at $123.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.75.

ESAB Stock Down 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.09.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. As a group, analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in ESAB by 871.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.