Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

LECO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $249.17 on Monday. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.