ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) is Royce & Associates LP's 9th Largest Position

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,442 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,310 shares during the quarter. ESAB comprises approximately 0.8% of Royce & Associates LP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.20% of ESAB worth $86,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESAB. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in ESAB by 41.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in ESAB by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $278,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ESAB by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,878 shares of the company's stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.14.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB traded down $2.05 on Thursday, reaching $120.35. The stock had a trading volume of 286,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,371. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.56 and a 200 day moving average of $118.52. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 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 is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.