Natixis Advisors LLC Invests $1.93 Million in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,196,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,512,000 after purchasing an additional 127,714 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in ESAB by 21.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,001,000 after acquiring an additional 337,983 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 3.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,692,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,028,000 after acquiring an additional 55,458 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,353,000 after acquiring an additional 190,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 839,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,712,000 after purchasing an additional 428,770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock opened at $122.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.14. ESAB Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.54 and a fifty-two week high of $135.97.

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

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.14.

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.