VestGen Investment Management Grows Stake in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

VestGen Investment Management raised its holdings in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,469 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. VestGen Investment Management’s holdings in ESAB were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 204.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 706.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ESAB by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in ESAB by 637.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Trading Down 2.8%

ESAB opened at $119.92 on Friday. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.23.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The firm had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 3rd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.57%.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ESAB. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered ESAB from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.11.

ESAB Profile

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.