ESAB Corporation $ESAB Stock Position Reduced by Keeley Teton Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Keeley Teton Advisors LLC reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 25.1%, selling 9,860 shares and leaving it with 29,500 shares valued at approximately $3.44 million.
• Several hedge funds changed their positions in ESAB during the first quarter, with notable increases from First Horizon Advisors and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management of over 200% and 700% respectively.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for ESAB, with JPMorgan reducing its estimate to $125.00, while Loop Capital upgraded its target to $140.00, indicating strong mixed sentiments around the stock.

Keeley Teton Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,860 shares during the quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC's holdings in ESAB were worth $3,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESAB. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in ESAB by 3.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the company's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 17,027 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter valued at about $590,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 57.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded down $0.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $116.79. The company had a trading volume of 435,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,608. ESAB Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.15 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the company'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 transaction of $192,225.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of ESAB 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,007 shares of company stock worth $841,630 in the last ninety days. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ESAB. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital raised shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.38.

ESAB 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.