Fmr LLC Reduces Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

FMR LLC trimmed its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,796,238 shares of the company's stock after selling 400,284 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 2.97% of ESAB worth $215,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,001,000 after purchasing an additional 337,983 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of ESAB by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 32,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in ESAB by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ESAB Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ESAB stock traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $113.89. The stock had a trading volume of 39,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,221. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.50. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.43 million. Analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

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.