Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires Shares of 8,462 ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of ESAB by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth about $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in ESAB by 25.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 458,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,396,000 after purchasing an additional 94,335 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in ESAB by 109.4% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ESAB by 183.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Trading Down 3.4%

ESAB stock opened at $86.17 on Thursday. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $82.18 and a 12-month high of $137.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.05 and its 200 day moving average is $103.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $745.60 million for 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%. ESAB’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This is a positive change from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Roth Capital increased their target price on ESAB from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of ESAB from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.38.

About ESAB

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.