ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• ESAB has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• ESAB's stock price rose by 4.6%, with a current consensus target price of $141.44.
• The company's quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.36, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a 1.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ESAB. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ESAB in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.44.

ESAB Stock Up 4.6%

ESAB stock opened at $117.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.23. ESAB has a 52 week low of $100.17 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $115.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in ESAB by 15,942.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 88,074 shares of the company's stock worth $10,261,000 after buying an additional 87,525 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in ESAB by 20.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,453 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in ESAB by 323.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its stake in ESAB by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 106,341 shares of the company's stock worth $12,389,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in ESAB by 1,128.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently 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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