AQR Capital Management LLC Has $11.28 Million Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,571 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESAB were worth $11,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of ESAB by 302.6% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in ESAB during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESAB. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $100.10 and its 200-day moving average is $101.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.42.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

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.