Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 106,215 Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 31.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,215 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.38% of ESAB worth $27,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in ESAB by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,852,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 37.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.04. 177,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 242,163. ESAB Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $124.80 and a 200-day moving average of $122.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.26.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.01%.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ESAB shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on ESAB from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.89.

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.