Front Street Capital Management Inc. Has $18.93 Million Holdings in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Front Street Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 6.6%, now holding $18.93 million worth of shares, which constitutes approximately 3.6% of its total portfolio.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in ESAB during the first quarter, including Durable Capital Partners LP, which acquired a new stake valued at $114 million.
• ESAB reported strong quarterly earnings with EPS of $1.36, beating estimates, and a revenue increase of 1.3% year-over-year to $715.59 million.

Front Street Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,563 shares during the period. ESAB makes up approximately 3.6% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Front Street Capital Management Inc. owned 0.27% of ESAB worth $18,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $10,616,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $30,769,000. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 4.2% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 17,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $338,000. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $114,067,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $111.93. The stock had a trading volume of 149,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,870. ESAB Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.88 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The business's 50 day moving average is $121.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.26.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The company had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.44.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total value of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ESAB Company Profile

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.