Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 5,413 Shares of ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,006 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,413 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in ESAB were worth $5,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in ESAB by 0.5% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 19,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 5.0% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in ESAB by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its position in ESAB by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 34,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ESAB. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.50.

ESAB Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $94.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.97. ESAB Corporation has a 52-week low of $82.18 and a 52-week high of $137.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.65. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.17.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.20%.

ESAB Profile

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.