KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,444,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ESAB by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $115.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.69 and its 200-day moving average is $119.50. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97.

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

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.41%.

ESAB Company 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.