Michels Family Financial LLC Buys Shares of 6,029 ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ESAB by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of ESAB by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in ESAB by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in ESAB by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company’s stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $123.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.51. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $633.66 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from ESAB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total transaction of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,965,807.35. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ESAB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.22.

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.