Confluence Investment Management LLC Invests $998,000 in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,123,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,043,000 after buying an additional 33,015 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,043,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,385,000 after purchasing an additional 114,744 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of ESAB by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,430,000 after buying an additional 560,678 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of ESAB by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,014,000 after buying an additional 10,765 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in ESAB by 10.4% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,011,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,029,000 after buying an additional 95,294 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at $12,362,164.56. This trade represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $94.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.23. ESAB Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.69 and a twelve month high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.80.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $687.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.80 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. ESAB’s dividend 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.