ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $143.00 to $144.00. The stock had previously closed at $119.90, but opened at $125.03. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. ESAB shares last traded at $120.2270, with a volume of 5,940 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also commented on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ESAB from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in ESAB by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in ESAB by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 12,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 2,835 shares during the period. Defender Capital LLC. purchased a new position in ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,977,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in ESAB by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 19,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.99.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The firm had revenue of $727.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.08%.

ESAB Company Profile

ESAB Corporation is a global leader in welding, cutting and gas control technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, consumables and automation solutions. The company’s products include welding power sources, cutting machines, torches, electrodes, filler metals and gas regulating equipment designed to meet the needs of diverse industries. ESAB serves sectors such as construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, providing both standard and customized solutions to enhance productivity and quality in metal fabrication and processing.

Founded in 1904 by Swedish inventor Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB pioneered the development of coated welding electrodes, laying the groundwork for modern welding practices.