Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,655 ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of ESAB by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 37,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 776,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,980,000 after acquiring an additional 365,109 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the first quarter valued at about $18,580,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in ESAB by 76.8% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 85,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 37,030 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in ESAB by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 102,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,831,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. 91.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 636 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $45,626.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $45,626.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,996.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The shares were 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 company insiders.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $72.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.38. 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 1-year low of $32.12 and a 1-year high of $73.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.89 and its 200 day moving average is $62.94.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $720.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $665.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESAB. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of ESAB from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ESAB from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of ESAB from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on ESAB in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, CL King initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.43.

ESAB 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.