ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• ESAB has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with previous ratings by Zacks Research and other analysts also reflecting a cautious outlook.
• Despite recent rating downgrades, analysts have varying target prices for ESAB, with JPMorgan Chase increasing their target to $138.00 and Roth Capital setting it at $150.00.
• Insider trading was noted, with two significant insiders selling shares, resulting in a decrease of ownership, while over 91% of the stock is held by institutional investors.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ESAB from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Capital assumed coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital raised shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ESAB in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.89.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $121.97 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.23. ESAB has a 12 month low of $100.17 and a 12 month high of $135.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the firm'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. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 3.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in ESAB by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,417 shares of the company's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in ESAB by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in ESAB by 0.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in ESAB by 4.4% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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