Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 90,000 Shares of ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 112.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in ESAB were worth $16,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 16.9% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 17,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in ESAB by 359.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 12,406 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in ESAB by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 2.6% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the first quarter valued at $105,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESAB shares. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ESAB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.50.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $86.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.77 and a 200-day moving average of $105.90. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.26. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $82.18 and a one year high of $137.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This is a positive change from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.20%.

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.