Defender Capital LLC. Grows Stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Defender Capital LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,608 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. ESAB makes up about 1.1% of Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings in ESAB were worth $2,951,000 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 the business. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in ESAB by 871.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 55.9% in the 3rd 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. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 629.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ESAB shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.57.

ESAB Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $121.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.73. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $85.79 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

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.