Cooke & Bieler LP Buys 930,955 Shares of ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Cooke & Bieler LP increased its ESAB stake by 73.3%, purchasing 930,955 shares to own 2.2 million shares, or about 3.54% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 91.13% of ESAB’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with six Buy ratings and one Hold, but several firms recently lowered their price targets. ESAB has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $118.67.
• ESAB shares opened at $66.39, near their one-year low of $62.74, after the company narrowly missed quarterly EPS estimates despite 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 73.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,200,682 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 930,955 shares during the period. ESAB makes up approximately 2.2% of Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 3.54% of ESAB worth $144,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $524,533,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in ESAB during the second quarter worth $94,210,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ESAB during the second quarter worth $56,678,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter valued at $51,843,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter valued at $49,673,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $125.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of ESAB from $135.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price (down from $151.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ESAB from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $114.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.67.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $66.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.96. The business's fifty day moving average price is $71.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.19. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $62.74 and a one year high of $137.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.04). ESAB had a return on equity of 14.48% and a net margin of 5.75%. The company had revenue of $807.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. ESAB has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.400-5.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,000 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $95,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

ESAB Company Profile

ESAB Corporation NYSE: ESAB is a global provider of welding and cutting technologies. The company develops and supplies equipment, consumables, automation solutions and related products used to join, cut and process metals across industrial and commercial applications.

Its product portfolio includes welding machines, cutting systems, welding electrodes and wires, filler metals, gas-control equipment, plasma and oxyfuel technologies, and digital or automated solutions. ESAB also offers products and services designed to support fabrication, manufacturing, construction, transportation, energy and maintenance operations.

ESAB serves customers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region through a portfolio of established brands and distribution channels.

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