TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 67,666 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 547,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,666 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.91% of ESAB worth $47,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at about $918,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 154,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,342,000 after buying an additional 7,682 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in ESAB by 202.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,828,000 after acquiring an additional 46,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in ESAB during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,062,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of ESAB from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total value of $741,125.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,863 shares in the company, valued at $3,361,918.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Didier P. Teirlinck sold 2,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $248,688.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,352,437. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total transaction of $741,125.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,361,918.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,833 shares of company stock worth $1,074,985. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $109.05. 181,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,173. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.55. ESAB Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.53 and a fifty-two week high of $114.77.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $690.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.93 million. ESAB had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.28%.

ESAB 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.