DAVENPORT & Co LLC Trims Position in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 965,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,774 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned approximately 1.59% of ESAB worth $108,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB in the first quarter valued at $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 26.1% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in ESAB by 8.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ESAB shares. Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.25.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock opened at $95.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.52. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $93.10 and a 12-month high of $137.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 7.98%.The company had revenue of $687.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.80 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. ESAB’s payout ratio is 10.81%.

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.