Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Buys Shares of 80,000 ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in ESAB Corporation, buying 80,000 shares valued at about $8.94 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 91.13% of ESAB shares held by institutions and hedge funds; meanwhile, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares in February, reducing his holdings by 37.3%.
• ESAB recently beat revenue expectations but missed EPS by a penny in its latest quarter, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share from $0.10.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 80,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,938,000. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.13% of ESAB at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its stake in ESAB by 40.5% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,945,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,430,000 after acquiring an additional 560,678 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,014,000 after buying an additional 10,765 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 64.3% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 996,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,353,000 after buying an additional 390,104 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 27.6% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 785,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,772,000 after buying an additional 169,958 shares during the period. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 762,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,162,000 after buying an additional 45,873 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $7,353,621.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at $12,362,164.56. This trade represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 price objective on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings cut ESAB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.22.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $94.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.06. ESAB Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.41 and a 52 week high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is 11.83%.

ESAB Company Profile

ESAB Corporation is a global leader in welding, cutting and gas control technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, consumables and automation solutions. The company's products include welding power sources, cutting machines, torches, electrodes, filler metals and gas regulating equipment designed to meet the needs of diverse industries. ESAB serves sectors such as construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, providing both standard and customized solutions to enhance productivity and quality in metal fabrication and processing.

Founded in 1904 by Swedish inventor Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB pioneered the development of coated welding electrodes, laying the groundwork for modern welding practices.

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