Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $52.28 Million Investment in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 435,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,281,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.72% of ESAB at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 270 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Up 2.6 %

ESAB stock opened at $125.63 on Wednesday. ESAB Co. has a 52 week low of $88.54 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $122.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. On average, analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $135.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.14.

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.

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