ESAB Corporation $ESAB is Royce & Associates LP’s 4th Largest Position

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 898,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,503 shares during the period. ESAB comprises about 1.0% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in ESAB were worth $100,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 109.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 3,023.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $91.81 on Tuesday. ESAB Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.17 and a 52 week high of $137.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.28.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The business had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. ESAB’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This is a positive change from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 11.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESAB. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.88.

ESAB Company 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.