Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in ESAB were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE ESAB opened at $103.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.64 and its 200 day moving average is $101.74. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.42. ESAB Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.43 and a fifty-two week high of $114.77.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $707.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESAB shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Thursday, June 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

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.