Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Price

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the stock.

ESAB has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.22.

ESAB Trading Down 1.4%

ESAB stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $123.20. The stock had a trading volume of 171,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,007. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. ESAB has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $119.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.51.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $633.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. ESAB's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. This is a boost from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is 9.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in ESAB by 204.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.