Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Sells 167 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lowered its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in ESAB were worth $958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC grew its position in ESAB by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in ESAB by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 8.5% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 71,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,866,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on ESAB from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.57.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $93.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.42. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $61.43 and a 12 month high of $114.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.18.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $707.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.75 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 17.49%. ESAB’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.