UBS Group AG Has $16.95 Million Stock Holdings in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,720 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.25% of ESAB worth $16,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in ESAB by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in ESAB by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in ESAB by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 19,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ESAB by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ESAB news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 99,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,362,164.56. This represents a 37.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Roth Mkm set a $142.00 price objective on ESAB in a report on Thursday, April 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.22.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock opened at $94.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.48 and a 200-day moving average of $112.06. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.41 and a 12-month high of $137.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. The firm had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.74 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

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.