Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,195,048 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.98% of ESAB worth $143,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ESAB in the third quarter worth about $215,000. State Street Corp grew its position in ESAB by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,692,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,028,000 after buying an additional 55,458 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in ESAB by 2.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,411,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in ESAB by 46.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,027 shares during the period. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ESAB. UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.75.

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ESAB Price Performance

ESAB traded up $2.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.28. 341,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,907. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. 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 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.43.

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

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.