US Bancorp DE Reduces Stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in ESAB were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 46,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of ESAB by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 22,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of ESAB by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 27,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of ESAB by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 91.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $73.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $73.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.38.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.16. ESAB had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $720.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $665.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESAB has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on ESAB from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on ESAB from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on ESAB from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CL King initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $45,626.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,996.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ESAB news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $45,626.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $574,996.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $483,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,184,163.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ESAB Company Profile

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