ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $88.23 and last traded at $89.3010, with a volume of 6315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESAB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.22.

ESAB Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.63. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $745.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.74 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 7.11%.ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 14.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. The trade was a 37.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 55.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 131,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,671,000 after buying an additional 46,787 shares during the period. Oak Associates Ltd. OH boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 24,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 4,898 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 192.7% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 14,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 9,703 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $818,000. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

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.