ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Short Interest Update

ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 788,100 shares, an increase of 35.9% from the February 13th total of 580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 260,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE ESAB traded up $1.70 on Monday, reaching $121.98. 339,107 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,891. ESAB has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.28. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. As a group, research analysts predict that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in ESAB by 871.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

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.