Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric to “Hold” from “Buy.” Despite the change, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $307.22.
• Lincoln Electric reported quarterly EPS of $2.93, exceeding the $2.81 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.22 billion, up 12% year over year and above expectations.
• Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company, with BlackRock and Norges Bank among investors establishing new positions; an executive also sold 845 shares worth approximately $232,000.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LECO. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.8%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $253.06 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The company has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.60.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth about $656,165,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $415,155,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,005,000 after purchasing an additional 12,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $313,175,000 after purchasing an additional 6,070 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 18,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.

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