XTX Topco Ltd Buys 3,729 Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in ESAB Corporation by 196.7% in the first quarter, owning 5,625 shares worth $655,000 after additional purchases.
• ESAB's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.36, beating estimates and a revenue of $715.59 million, exceeding analyst expectations of $670.80 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.10 per share, up from $0.08, reflecting a yield of 0.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 9.01%.

XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 196.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,625 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,729 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in ESAB were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ESAB by 204.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 1,128.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in ESAB by 323.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Trading Up 6.2%

ESAB stock traded up $6.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $116.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 980,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,853. ESAB Corporation has a 52 week low of $93.13 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $125.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.57.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $715.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.80 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a boost from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. ESAB's payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,357 shares of company stock worth $567,695 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.88.

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.