Analysts Set Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target at $231.40

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five analysts, with an average price target of $231.40.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.60, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.28 and indicating a 6.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Lincoln Electric is set to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.75 on October 15th, representing an annual dividend yield of 1.3%.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $231.40.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.26. 257,363 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $246.83. The company has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.05.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.