ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $117.93, but opened at $113.56. ESAB shares last traded at $116.74, with a volume of 14,650 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $144.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered ESAB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital upped their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded ESAB from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.43.

ESAB Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.58. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $620.50 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total transaction of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in ESAB by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in ESAB by 629.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 20.4% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,123 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.