ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $135.97 and last traded at $135.63, with a volume of 3554 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $126.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

ESAB Stock Up 5.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total value of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,627,789.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total value of $531,877.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ESAB by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,424,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,316,000 after acquiring an additional 653,377 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,811,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,110,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 2,277.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 93,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,359,000 after buying an additional 89,826 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,277,000. 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.