Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.1429.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $264.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.8% in the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $260.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.82. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $170.01 and a 52-week high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 10.76 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.91%.

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.