AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,690 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of ESAB worth $9,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $122.42 on Wednesday. ESAB Co. has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. ESAB’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 7.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ESAB. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.67.

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.