ESAB Corporation $ESAB Shares Purchased by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management significantly increased its ESAB stake by 110.1% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 185,729 shares and bringing its holdings to 354,397 shares worth about $39.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 91.13% of ESAB’s stock. Several other firms also added to positions during the quarter.
• ESAB reported mixed quarterly results: revenue rose 10% year over year to $745.6 million, but EPS of $1.31 slightly missed estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share from $0.10.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 110.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,397 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 185,729 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.58% of ESAB worth $39,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 3,023.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 406 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 959,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,151,000 after purchasing an additional 262,850 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESAB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ESAB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.88.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Up 0.9%

ESAB opened at $91.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.58. The company has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.24. ESAB Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.17 and a 1 year high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

ESAB Profile

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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