Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LECO. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.33.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 3.0%

LECO opened at $227.93 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $249.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $239.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 over the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 86,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,353,000 after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,020,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.