ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Price Down 13.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• ESAB Corporation's stock price decreased by 13.4% to $114.40, significantly below its previous close of $132.03, with trading volumes down by 62% compared to the average.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on ESAB, with three holding a "hold" rating and four a "buy" rating, reflecting an average target price of $140.00.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.10 per share, representing a 0.4% yield and reflecting a low dividend payout ratio of 9.01%.

Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) dropped 13.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $115.33 and last traded at $114.40. Approximately 113,186 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 294,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESAB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of 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. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ESAB has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.88.

ESAB Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $124.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.27.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. ESAB's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,357 shares of company stock valued at $567,695 over the last quarter. 7.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,602 shares of the company's stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.6% during 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 last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,150 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.