California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: California State Teachers Retirement System raised its ESAB stake by 22.7% to 67,358 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 91.13% of the company.
• Mixed financial results: ESAB reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, slightly below estimates, but revenue of $745.6 million exceeded forecasts and rose 10% year over year.
• Dividend and analyst outlook improved: ESAB raised its quarterly dividend from $0.10 to $0.12 per share. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $138.38, well above the reported share price of $92.34.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,358 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,481 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.11% of ESAB worth $6,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in ESAB by 6,787.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,053,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $85,692,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $69,099,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of ESAB by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,852,692 shares of the company's stock worth $653,864,000 after purchasing an additional 613,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of ESAB by 40.5% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company's stock worth $217,430,000 after purchasing an additional 560,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $92.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.79 and a 200 day moving average of $102.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. ESAB Corporation has a 12 month low of $82.18 and a 12 month high of $137.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $745.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.74 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. ESAB's payout ratio is currently 14.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESAB shares. Roth Capital boosted their price target on ESAB from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of ESAB from $141.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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