ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Upgraded to "Inline" at Evercore ISI

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $120.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $122.00. Evercore ISI's target price indicates a potential downside of 2.89% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports 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 report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital upped their price target on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.14.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock traded up $2.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $123.58. 467,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 229,650. The firm's fifty day moving average is $122.39 and its 200-day moving average is $116.10. The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB has a 52 week low of $88.54 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Research analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in ESAB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,199,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth $52,281,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 839,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,712,000 after buying an additional 428,770 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,001,000 after acquiring an additional 337,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,097,624 shares of the company's stock worth $251,589,000 after buying an additional 318,018 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.