Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 8,610 Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its investment in ESAB Corporation by 57.2%, bringing its holdings to a value of $2.76 million after purchasing additional shares during the 1st quarter.
• ESAB's stock has declined 17.1% recently, trading at $109.42, while its market capitalization stands at $6.63 billion.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.10, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 57.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,666 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in ESAB were worth $2,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 204.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 1,128.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of ESAB by 323.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,357 shares of company stock worth $567,695 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

ESAB Trading Up 6.2%

NYSE:ESAB traded up $6.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $116.09. 980,796 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,853. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.17 and a 200 day moving average of $122.57. ESAB Corporation has a 12 month low of $93.13 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.95.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ESAB shares. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.88.

About ESAB

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.