Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.88 Million Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,080 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ESAB were worth $14,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in ESAB in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of ESAB by 55.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 629.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $121.41 on Friday. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $82.44 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.34.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 7.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total value of $531,877.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total value of $7,269,395.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,902 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESAB shares. Evercore ISI cut ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.43.

ESAB 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.