Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,391 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 518,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.86% of ESAB worth $62,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position 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 worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of ESAB by 20.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of 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 reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ESAB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $119.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $122.43 and its 200 day moving average is $117.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.