AQR Capital Management LLC Has $7.39 Million Stake in ESAB Corporation $ESAB

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 15.8% in Q1, owning 65,239 shares worth $7.39 million after selling 12,251 shares.
• ESAB reported a quarterly EPS of $1.36, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing to $715.59 million compared to consensus estimates of $670.80 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, expected to be paid on October 17th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,239 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,251 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of ESAB worth $7,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $114,067,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,929,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,740,000 after acquiring an additional 570,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 880,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,605,000 after acquiring an additional 443,574 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,415,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at about $24,511,000. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.38. 552,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,187. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a 1-year low of $100.17 and a 1-year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.80 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation 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 Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.57%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total transaction of $459,774.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESAB shares. Zacks Research cut ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Roth Capital started coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.44.

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.