Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $1.07 Million in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in ESAB by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its holdings in ESAB by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 5.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESAB. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on 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 target for the stock 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 four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.14.

ESAB Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $120.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.18. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, 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 posted 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 net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.41%.

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.