BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Invests $59,000 in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of ESAB by 706.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of ESAB by 637.2% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc bought a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ESAB in the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESAB. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital began coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital upgraded ESAB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on ESAB from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of ESAB 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $112.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $100.17 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.38 and its 200 day moving average is $120.18.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $727.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.57 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 8.70%.ESAB’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.08%.

ESAB 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.