Panagora Asset Management Inc. Invests $244,000 in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 499,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,275,000 after acquiring an additional 9,658 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 160,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,937,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ESAB. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on ESAB from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.29.

ESAB Stock Up 0.6 %

ESAB opened at $103.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.22. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $57.53 and a twelve month high of $114.77.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.09. ESAB had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $690.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. ESAB’s payout ratio is presently 6.28%.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In related news, Director Didier P. Teirlinck sold 2,512 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $248,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,352,437. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Didier P. Teirlinck sold 2,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $248,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,352,437. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total value of $741,125.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,361,918.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,833 shares of company stock worth $1,074,985. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.