ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• ESAB's stock rating has been upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Stifel Nicolaus, with a target price of $141.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.86% from its previous close.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36, surpassing analysts' expectations, and had revenue of $715.59 million, which is higher than consensus estimates of $670.80 million.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, with significant transactions from Olivier Biebuyck and Rhonda L. Jordan, highlighting a possible trend in insider activity as 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $141.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price suggests a potential upside of 28.86% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.00.

ESAB Trading Down 17.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $109.42 on Thursday. ESAB has a 12-month low of $92.86 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $125.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 9.98%. 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 posted $1.32 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,357 shares of company stock valued at $567,695. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in ESAB by 706.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 1,128.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

About ESAB

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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