Short Interest in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Grows By 13.5%

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 902,100 shares, a growth of 13.5% from the May 31st total of 795,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 275,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB traded up $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.22. 195,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,284. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.37 and its 200-day moving average is $97.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. ESAB has a 1-year low of $61.43 and a 1-year high of $114.77.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $690.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.93 million. ESAB had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ESAB will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESAB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on ESAB from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.63.

Institutional Trading of ESAB

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 8.4% in 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 during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth about $259,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth about $6,174,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in ESAB by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 33,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,720,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ESAB

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.