Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in ESAB were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 871.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in ESAB by 629.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.14.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE ESAB opened at $123.58 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. ESAB Co. has a 1-year low of $88.54 and a 1-year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. Equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.41%.

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.