Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives $243.50 Average PT from Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.50.

Several research firms have issued reports on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 105.9% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 50,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,801,000 after acquiring an additional 25,742 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 7,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $241.81 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $249.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

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.