ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $88.23 and last traded at $89.3010, with a volume of 6315 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ESAB. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $142.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.22.

ESAB Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.24.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 55.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 131,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,671,000 after acquiring an additional 46,787 shares during the period. Oak Associates Ltd. OH lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 24,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 4,898 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 192.7% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 14,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $818,000. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Company Profile

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.