ESAB Corporation $ESAB Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) by 60.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,675 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in ESAB by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,042,000 after buying an additional 11,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the first quarter valued at $10,616,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 94,335 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 183.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESAB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of ESAB from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on ESAB in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ESAB from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.38.

ESAB Stock Down 2.6%

ESAB stock opened at $92.34 on Thursday. ESAB Corporation has a 52 week low of $82.18 and a 52 week high of $137.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.53. 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 (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $745.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.74 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 15.04%. ESAB’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts expect that ESAB Corporation will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 3rd were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.20%.

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.