Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on ESAB (NYSE:ESAB)

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.43.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock opened at $127.63 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $82.44 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.78 and its 200 day moving average is $106.64. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.34.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its 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. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that ESAB will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,902 shares in the company, valued at $6,627,789.92. This represents a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,429,125. The trade was a 30.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in ESAB during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 12,140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in ESAB during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.