Front Street Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,249 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Front Street Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,249 shares during the quarter. ESAB accounts for about 3.6% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Front Street Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of ESAB worth $20,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE ESAB opened at $113.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.50. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 1-year low of $88.54 and a 1-year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESAB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on ESAB from $125.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.75.

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.