Congruence Capital LLC Invests $6.63 Million in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Congruence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 59,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,000. ESAB comprises about 2.4% of Congruence Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Congruence Capital LLC owned 0.10% of ESAB as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in ESAB by 109.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 259.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 381 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ESAB by 3,023.1% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESAB. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 target price on ESAB in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.88.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock opened at $91.46 on Friday. ESAB Corporation has a 52-week low of $82.18 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 cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.29.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

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.