Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $16.64 Million Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 138,758 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,176 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ESAB were worth $16,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in ESAB by 629.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESAB. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $123.58 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.30. ESAB Co. has a one year low of $88.54 and a one year high of $135.97. The stock has a market cap 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 (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $633.20 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. 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 presently 7.41%.

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.