Comerica Bank Has $2.27 Million Stock Position in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 29.6%, now holding 19,471 shares worth approximately $2.27 million after selling 8,181 shares in the first quarter.
• ESAB reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36, surpassing estimates, and achieved a revenue of $715.59 million, which represents a 1.3% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on ESAB, with six rating it as a Buy and two as a Hold, and an average price target of $140.38 for the stock.

Comerica Bank reduced its position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,471 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,181 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in ESAB were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 541,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,955,000 after buying an additional 73,405 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 138.8% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,573,000 after buying an additional 17,315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $2,970,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 116,856 shares of the company's stock worth $14,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,077 shares of the company's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 4,119 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESAB. Zacks Research lowered ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Loop Capital upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Roth Capital began coverage on ESAB in a research report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total value of $459,774.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,007 shares of company stock worth $841,630. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

ESAB Trading Up 1.3%

ESAB stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.94. 236,855 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,595. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $121.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.03. 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 company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $93.15 and a one year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $715.59 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.