ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,197 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of ESAB worth $40,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in ESAB by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in ESAB by 12,140.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ESAB. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.14.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $115.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.96.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.41%.

About ESAB

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.