Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 187 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,144 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in ESAB were worth $7,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in ESAB by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 23.4% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.63.

ESAB Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.98. 363,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,110. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.57. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $61.43 and a 12 month high of $114.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $690.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.93 million. ESAB had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.38%.

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.