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

Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) reached a new 52-week high 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

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

ESAB Trading Up 5.1 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $106.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.50 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773 over the last 90 days. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 302.6% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ESAB during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 629.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

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.