ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Short Interest Update

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 541,000 shares, an increase of 26.2% from the March 31st total of 428,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 248,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

ESAB Trading Down 1.9 %

ESAB traded down $2.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,947. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. ESAB has a twelve month low of $56.69 and a twelve month high of $114.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.54.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $689.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.51 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ESAB will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ESAB. Evercore ISI increased their target price on ESAB from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $111.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on ESAB from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In related news, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total transaction of $741,125.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,361,918.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other ESAB news, Director Didier P. Teirlinck sold 2,512 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $248,688.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,352,437. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total value of $741,125.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,361,918.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,833 shares of company stock worth $1,074,985 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in ESAB by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 55.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 23.4% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of ESAB by 28,250.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Company Profile

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.