Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 1,684 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB – Get Rating) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,762 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in ESAB were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in ESAB during the second quarter worth about $46,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 71.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 21.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the third quarter valued at about $156,000. 80.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $58.79 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.38. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion and a PE ratio of 17.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $63.32.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 7th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $664.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.50 million. On average, analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 29th. This is a boost from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. ESAB’s payout ratio is currently 6.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on ESAB from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on ESAB from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on ESAB from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. CL King assumed coverage on ESAB in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on ESAB in a research report on Monday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.80.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other news, Director Patrick W. Allender sold 1,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.35, for a total transaction of $118,527.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,168 shares in the company, valued at $130,838.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Patrick W. Allender sold 1,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.35, for a total value of $118,527.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,168 shares in the company, valued at $130,838.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 3,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.39, for a total value of $233,895.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $326,042.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,495 shares of company stock worth $624,589 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Company Profile

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ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, and automated welding, as well as 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.