ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Short Interest Up 6.0% in October

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 952,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 241,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB traded down $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.20. The stock had a trading volume of 298,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,179. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.78 and a 200-day moving average of $103.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92. ESAB has a one year low of $76.08 and a one year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,429,125. This represents a 30.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total transaction of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,627,789.92. The trade was a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 629.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in ESAB in the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESAB. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.14.

ESAB Company 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.