Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. made a new investment in ESAB Corporation, purchasing 2,271 shares valued at approximately $265,000.
• ESAB's stock opened at $111.04, down 4.2% recently, with a market capitalization of $6.73 billion and revenue of $715.59 million for the last quarter.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with insider Olivier Biebuyck selling 1,440 shares for $192,225.60, reflecting an 8.76% ownership decrease post-sale.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ESAB by 21.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 196.7% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,729 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $256,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,466 shares of the company's stock worth $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 17,027 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in ESAB by 3.6% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock traded down $2.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $108.88. The company had a trading volume of 463,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,619. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.27. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.42. ESAB Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.15 and a twelve month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.80 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESAB. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.88.

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.