Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (LECO) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts remain moderately bullish on Lincoln Electric: Six of 11 analysts rate the stock a buy and five recommend holding it, with an average 12-month price target of $319.11.
• Lincoln Electric reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.98 per share and revenue of $1.22 billion, up 15.1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.87 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.48 payout and a 1.2% yield; institutional investors own 79.61% of the stock.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $319.11.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $285.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $268.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LECO. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 1,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 859 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 9.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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