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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from “hold” to “buy.” Analysts overall give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $307.22.
• Lincoln Electric reported quarterly EPS of $2.93, beating estimates of $2.81, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $1.22 billion.
• LECO opened at $257.20, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.02 billion; institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s shares.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $257.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00.

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

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.1% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 403.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,679,000 after acquiring an additional 17,139 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $578,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 34,079 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,048,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 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 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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