Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at DA Davidson

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $273.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $199.13 and a twelve month high of $310.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $260.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.32. The stock has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.