Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Purchases Shares of 175,477 ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 175,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,046,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in ESAB by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $115.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.69 and its 200 day moving average is $119.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week 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. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.43 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. Research analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.14.

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.