Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $340.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $285.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $268.04 and a 200 day moving average of $266.10. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total value of $4,051,903.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $407,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,025,000. 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 of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.