ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Cut to “Underperform” at Evercore ISI

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $122.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $102.00. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.53% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.71.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $126.47 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.45. ESAB has a one year low of $76.08 and a one year high of $135.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that ESAB will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 55.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in ESAB by 12,140.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 629.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the second quarter valued at $92,000. 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.