Front Street Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Front Street Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 174,025 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,249 shares during the quarter. ESAB comprises 3.6% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Front Street Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of ESAB worth $20,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,358,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,903,000 after acquiring an additional 276,565 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 900.0% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $300,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Hanlon Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Up 3.5 %

ESAB stock traded up $3.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.88. The company had a trading volume of 85,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,679. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 52 week low of $88.54 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.84. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESAB. UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on ESAB from $125.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.75.

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.