Seizert Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ESAB by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 839,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,712,000 after purchasing an additional 428,770 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in ESAB by 21.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,001,000 after purchasing an additional 337,983 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in ESAB by 33.5% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,081,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,989,000 after purchasing an additional 271,459 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 19.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,353,000 after acquiring an additional 190,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 6.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,196,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,512,000 after acquiring an additional 127,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $117.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, 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 one year low of $88.54 and a one year high of $135.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.07.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $633.20 million for 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%. Research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

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.