Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 565 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in ESAB were worth $2,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,081,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,989,000 after acquiring an additional 271,459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,110,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 6.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,196,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,512,000 after purchasing an additional 127,714 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the second quarter worth $8,277,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in ESAB by 8.6% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 749,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,706,000 after buying an additional 59,447 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $129.51 on Wednesday. ESAB Co. has a 52 week low of $82.44 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.33 and its 200-day moving average is $106.89.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $620.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ESAB

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESAB shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has an average 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.