Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Position in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,318,269 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,466 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $147,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in ESAB by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 168,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,847,000 after buying an additional 12,894 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in ESAB during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,126,000. Defender Capital LLC. purchased a new position in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,977,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in ESAB by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 177,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,822,000 after buying an additional 44,877 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $88.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. ESAB Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.17 and a 1 year high of $137.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ESAB. Stifel Nicolaus set a $141.00 price target on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 price objective on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.88.

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.