Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ LECO opened at $216.62 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.29. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.