Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Short Interest Down 20.7% in April

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 743,845 shares, a decline of 20.7% from the March 31st total of 937,435 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 441,555 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LECO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.71.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $266.25. The stock had a trading volume of 496,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,905. Lincoln Electric has a one year low of $179.71 and a one year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $261.59 and its 200-day moving average is $253.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 10.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.91%.

Key Lincoln Electric News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln Electric this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — Lincoln reported $2.50 EPS vs. consensus ~$2.42 and revenue of $1.12B vs. ~$1.07B, driven by healthy volume and price/mix. The beat and year-over-year revenue growth support upside to near-term earnings momentum. Lincoln Electric Beats Q1 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company called it a record quarter for net sales and adjusted EPS — management highlighted record first-quarter net sales and adjusted EPS, which underpins the stronger-than-expected print and likely helped buyer demand. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains robust — net margin (~12.3%) and return on equity (~39%) signal strong cash conversion and operational leverage, supporting forward earnings assumptions. MarketBeat: Q1 Metrics & Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Management materials and presentation are available — the earnings slide deck and conference call provide detail on segment trends, order patterns and margin drivers; investors can review for guidance color and backlog commentary. Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst models and outlook — brokers continue modeling solid full?year EPS (Street consensus cited around $10.76 annual EPS), so the beat helps validate those forecasts but raises expectations for execution the rest of the year. Zacks: Key Metrics vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and leverage to watch — shares now trade at a premium (P/E ~28.6) and the company carries moderate leverage (debt/equity ~0.78); if growth or margins slow, valuation could compress. (See company metric summaries in the earnings release and market coverage.)

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.