AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 7,571 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,571 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.20% of ESAB worth $11,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the second quarter worth $8,277,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in ESAB during the second quarter worth about $721,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in ESAB by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 147,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,908,000 after purchasing an additional 18,328 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ESAB by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $384,000. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $104.84 on Thursday. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $61.43 and a twelve month high of $114.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $707.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.75 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESAB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

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.