Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 11,222 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,399 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,222 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.13% of ESAB worth $9,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of ESAB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $113.78. 25,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.50. ESAB Co. has a one year low of $88.54 and a one year high of $135.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. Research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. ESAB's payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ESAB. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on ESAB from $125.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.75.

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.