Royce & Associates LP Has $79.71 Million Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 749,752 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 59,447 shares during the period. ESAB comprises 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.24% of ESAB worth $79,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESAB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 55.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 629.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 181.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESAB shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital upped their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total value of $531,877.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This trade represents a 30.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $126.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.45. ESAB Co. has a 12-month low of $76.08 and a 12-month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.49%.

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.