Short Interest in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Increases By 43.8%

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a growth of 43.8% from the August 31st total of 778,900 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 238,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE ESAB traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.51. 148,418 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,932. ESAB has a fifty-two week low of $61.43 and a fifty-two week high of $114.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.68.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $707.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that ESAB will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is 8.38%.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in ESAB by 8.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC increased its position in ESAB by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in ESAB by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 5.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESAB. Bank of America boosted their target price on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on ESAB in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.67.

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.