Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $77.30 Million Stake 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% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 663,486 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,786 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.09% of ESAB worth $77,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $338,000. Durable Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,067,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 11,772 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in ESAB by 637.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,268 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 457,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,307. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $120.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.88 and a fifty-two week high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is 9.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was 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. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.44.

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.