Short Interest in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Increases By 26.4%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 26.4% in April to 2,194,066 shares (about 3.9% of shares short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.0, signaling increased bearish positioning.
• ESAB traded at $97.70, below its 50‑day ($104.65) and 200‑day ($113.11) moving averages; the company has a $5.95 billion market cap, P/E of 26.38, and a 52‑week range of $89.41–$137.42.
• CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares for roughly $7.35M, reducing his stake by 37.3%, while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $138.40 average price target.

ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,194,066 shares, an increase of 26.4% from the March 31st total of 1,736,476 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 731,020 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 203,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,688. The business's 50-day moving average is $104.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 52-week low of $89.41 and a 52-week high of $137.42.

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

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in ESAB by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,006,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $894,457,000 after purchasing an additional 45,841 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in ESAB by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,852,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $653,864,000 after purchasing an additional 613,327 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 560,678 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in ESAB by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,300,000 after purchasing an additional 16,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in ESAB by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,181,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,008,000 after purchasing an additional 35,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESAB shares. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on ESAB from $158.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.40.

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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