Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $77.30 Million Holdings in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein L.P. reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 14.7%, now holding approximately $77.30 million in shares after selling 114,786 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their investments in ESAB, with Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management growing their stake by 706.7% and Farther Finance Advisors by 1,128.9%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on ESAB, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price around $141.44, reflecting recent changes in analyst price targets.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 663,486 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,786 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.09% of ESAB worth $77,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in ESAB by 204.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in ESAB by 706.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in ESAB by 1,128.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in ESAB by 323.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital started coverage on ESAB in a research report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total value of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,007 shares of company stock worth $841,630. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ESAB Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of ESAB opened at $117.94 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $121.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a 52 week low of $93.15 and a 52 week high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB 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.

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