Voleon Capital Management LP Makes New $438,000 Investment in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th 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. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ESAB traded up $2.15 on Wednesday, hitting $124.44. 32,095 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,705. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. ESAB Co. has a 1-year low of $88.54 and a 1-year high of $135.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is $117.80 and its 200 day moving average is $121.71.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $633.66 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. ESAB's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.67.

About ESAB

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.