Evercore ISI Upgrades ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) to “Inline”

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $120.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $122.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB opened at $124.51 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.36. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. ESAB has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. As a group, analysts anticipate that ESAB will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of ESAB by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.