William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $22.91 Million in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 205,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,905,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ESAB by 29.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after buying an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in ESAB during the first quarter worth about $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in ESAB by 25.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 458,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,396,000 after purchasing an additional 94,335 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in ESAB by 109.4% during 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. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ESAB by 183.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESAB shares. Weiss Ratings lowered ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on ESAB from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $142.00 price target on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.88.

ESAB Stock Down 0.0%

ESAB opened at $91.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. ESAB Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.17 and a 12 month high of $137.42.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.83%.

ESAB 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.