ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $126.00 to $141.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ESAB. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.89.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded up $3.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $131.23. 232,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,817. ESAB has a one year low of $88.54 and a one year high of $135.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The business had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $633.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. ESAB's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 3.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the company's stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 37.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of ESAB by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 32,775 shares of the company's stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the first quarter worth approximately $590,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.