Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys New Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 78,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.14% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $69,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 118.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $259.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given 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 Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.