Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $216.62 on Monday. Lincoln Electric has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.29. The stock has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.