United Services Automobile Association Takes $436,000 Position in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in ESAB Corporation worth approximately $436,000 by purchasing 3,764 shares in the first quarter.
• ESAB Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.34, with a revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter.
• Research analysts have given ESAB an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with target prices ranging from $125.00 to $150.00.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,970,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of ESAB by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 116,856 shares of the company's stock worth $14,016,000 after acquiring an additional 8,113 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of ESAB by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,077 shares of the company's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 4,119 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of ESAB by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,056 shares of the company's stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of ESAB by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,801 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value 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 trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESAB shares. Roth Capital started coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.44.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.51. 119,710 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 328,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $120.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.59. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 9.36%.The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

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

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.