ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• ESAB Corporation has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from ten research firms, with two analysts recommending a hold and eight a buy. The average 12-month price target is approximately $142.89.
• Insider trading activity saw significant sales; for example, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares at an average price of $133.49, resulting in an 8.76% decrease in ownership.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, scheduled for payment on October 17th, indicating a low dividend payout ratio of 9.57%.

Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $142.8889.

ESAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on ESAB in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ESAB in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in ESAB by 8.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,387,626 shares of the company's stock worth $278,158,000 after purchasing an additional 185,058 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in ESAB by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,123,958 shares of the company's stock worth $256,043,000 after purchasing an additional 33,015 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,043,843 shares of the company's stock worth $246,385,000 after buying an additional 114,744 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,385,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,983,000 after buying an additional 406,057 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,272,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,432,000 after buying an additional 12,660 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $121.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.52. ESAB has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.23.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

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.

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