Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• Van Berkom & Associates raised its ESAB position by 6.4% in Q4 to 762,278 shares (about $85.16M), making ESAB roughly 2.5% of its portfolio and its 17th-largest holding.
• ESAB beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.35 vs. $1.34) with revenue up 7.5% year-over-year; the stock trades at a PE of 25.7 and carries an analyst consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $137.89.
• CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares for about $7.35M on Feb. 23, cutting his ownership by 37.3%; insiders own 7.2% of the company while institutional investors hold roughly 91.13%.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 762,278 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 45,873 shares during the quarter. ESAB makes up approximately 2.5% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned approximately 1.26% of ESAB worth $85,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 109.4% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 333 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 60.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 59.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 681 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Trading Down 2.9%

ESAB stock opened at $95.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $89.41 and a one year high of $137.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $104.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.90.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $687.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.80 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.81%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $7,353,621.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. This trade represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESAB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $158.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.89.

About ESAB

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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