Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 4,119 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 83.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,077 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,119 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in ESAB were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.05. The stock had a trading volume of 8,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,478. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. ESAB Co. has a 52 week low of $88.54 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.49.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB's payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.22.

ESAB 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.