ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• ESAB has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, impacting investor sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, five research analysts still rate ESAB as a buy with a consensus price target of $137.88.
• Shares of ESAB traded at $112.24 after a decline, reflecting ongoing volatility in the company's stock performance.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, August 18th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.38.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock traded up $0.5950 during trading on Monday, reaching $117.7350. The company had a trading volume of 113,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,867. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $122.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. ESAB has a one year low of $93.15 and a one year high of $135.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.27.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The business 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 business earned $1.32 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $192,225.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,007 shares of company stock worth $841,630 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the first quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 204.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 109.4% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 706.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 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.