Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $13.26 Million Stake in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 118,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,603 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $13,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESAB. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in ESAB by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB in the first quarter valued at $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in ESAB by 25.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 458,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,396,000 after purchasing an additional 94,335 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased 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 period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 183.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $91.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.29. ESAB Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.18 and a 1-year high of $137.42. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.19.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). ESAB had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. 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%. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESAB. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.88.

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.