ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,876 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,810 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of ESAB worth $11,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,692,161 shares of the company's stock worth $180,028,000 after purchasing an additional 55,458 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 2.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,682 shares of the company's stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in ESAB by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,349,000 after buying an additional 10,027 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB traded up $2.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.28. 341,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The business's 50 day moving average price is $120.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.43.

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ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESAB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.75.

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.