ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $88.03, but opened at $84.81. ESAB shares last traded at $83.4330, with a volume of 6,910 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ESAB. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.88.

ESAB Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.96.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,362,164.56. The trade was a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 109.4% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESAB by 259.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ESAB by 3,023.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

About ESAB

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.