ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Position Decreased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,513,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.09% of ESAB worth $642,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 1,128.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB opened at $114.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $93.15 and a 12-month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.88.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About ESAB

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.