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

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)’s stock price 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 changing hands.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter valued at about $83,814,000. Durable Capital Partners LP raised its stake in ESAB by 40.5% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,430,000 after acquiring an additional 560,678 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 726.9% in the third quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 632,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,666,000 after acquiring an additional 555,932 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 2,367.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 432,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,303,000 after purchasing an additional 414,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 996,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,353,000 after purchasing an additional 390,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.94 and its 200-day moving average is $116.55.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. On average, analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

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

About ESAB

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.