Analysts Set ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Target Price at $133.57

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.57.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESAB. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in ESAB by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,928,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 112,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,541,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ESAB by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 122.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $122.84 on Friday. ESAB has a 12-month low of $87.12 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.11.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

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.