ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Stock Position Decreased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.09% of ESAB worth $6,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FIL Ltd grew its stake in ESAB by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 175,000 shares of the company's stock worth $20,990,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,097,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,589,000 after acquiring an additional 318,018 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised 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 valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in ESAB by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,788 shares of the company's stock worth $10,409,000 after purchasing an additional 13,897 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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, April 14th. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.75.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $117.40. 20,801 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,870. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $118.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The business had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. Sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.41%.

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.