Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $307.2222.

A number of research firms have issued reports on LECO. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 40.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,561,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $656,165,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,141 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $956,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,155,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,700,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $2.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.58. The company had a trading volume of 120,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,755. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.