Quest Partners LLC Purchases 607 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 612 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 55.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in ESAB by 629.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of ESAB by 181.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.14.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock opened at $129.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $116.95 and a 200-day moving average of $105.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $76.08 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. ESAB’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

Insider Activity at ESAB

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total transaction of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,627,789.92. This trade represents a 52.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This trade represents a 30.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Company 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.