Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New $1.88 Million Investment in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. invested approximately $1.88 million in ESAB Corporation, acquiring 16,100 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• ESAB's stock fell 1.2%, with a current trading price of $115.44 amidst a market cap of $7.01 billion.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.36 EPS for the quarter, with revenues exceeding estimates at $715.59 million.

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in ESAB by 0.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,602 shares of the company's stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 0.6% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 37.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 204.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,007 shares of company stock valued at $841,630. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.94. 236,855 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,595. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $93.15 and a 12-month high of $135.97. 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. The business's 50-day moving average price is $121.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.03.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released 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. ESAB had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. 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 note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.44.

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.