Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB – Get Rating) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,014,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,368 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.35% of ESAB worth $94,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. State Street Corp purchased a new position in ESAB during the second quarter valued at $54,191,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in ESAB by 22.2% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,345,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,967,000 after purchasing an additional 789,494 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ESAB by 24.0% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,988,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,686,000 after purchasing an additional 578,482 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in ESAB during the third quarter valued at $14,288,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the second quarter worth about $16,005,000. 80.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 4,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.65, for a total value of $272,165.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,384,576.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 4,721 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.65, for a total value of $272,165.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,363 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,576.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 837 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $48,227.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,111,427.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,332 shares of company stock valued at $672,817. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESAB. Bank of America began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Monday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, CL King started coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.80.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB opened at $59.66 on Tuesday. ESAB Co. has a 1-year low of $32.12 and a 1-year high of $63.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion and a PE ratio of 18.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 7th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The business had revenue of $664.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.50 million. As a group, analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This is a positive change from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.08%.

ESAB Company Profile

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ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, and automated welding, as well as 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.