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

Key Points

• Analysts rate Lincoln Electric “Moderate Buy”: Five brokerages recommend buying the stock, one gives a strong-buy rating, and four rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $307.22, above the reported $253.06 share price.
• Lincoln Electric exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.93 in EPS versus the $2.81 consensus estimate and $1.22 billion in revenue, up 12% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, equivalent to $3.16 annually and a 1.2% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 79.6% of the company.

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.2222.

LECO has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $253.06 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $268.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 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. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 553.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,582,000 after buying an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,017,000 after buying an additional 10,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. 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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