Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target to $238.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $241.00 to $238.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LECO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an underweight rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $216.63.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $229.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $248.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.44. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $156.80 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The company has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. The company had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 170.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 439.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.9% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.7% during the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 13,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,055,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.