Empowered Funds LLC Invests $206,000 in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,001,000 after acquiring an additional 337,983 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 31,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 9,062 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,027 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $120.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.61. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. As a group, analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.43.

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.