New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,441 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in ESAB were worth $2,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in ESAB by 629.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 12,140.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB opened at $120.07 on Friday. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $122.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.61.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.43.

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.