ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Roth Capital began coverage on ESAB in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on ESAB from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on ESAB from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.50.

ESAB Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:ESAB opened at $114.10 on Friday. ESAB has a 1 year low of $100.17 and a 1 year high of $135.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $727.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. 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 Wednesday, December 31st. ESAB’s payout ratio is 10.08%.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its position in ESAB by 56.4% during the second quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 26,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 9,608 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 266.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 5,713 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 82.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 159.9% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ESAB by 5.9% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,043,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,385,000 after purchasing an additional 114,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.