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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Lincoln Electric, with five buy ratings, one strong buy, and four holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $307.22, above the reported share price of $279.56.
• Lincoln Electric exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.93 in EPS versus the $2.81 consensus and revenue of $1.22 billion versus estimates of $1.17 billion. Revenue increased 12% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, equivalent to $3.16 annually and a 1.1% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 79.6% of the stock.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $307.2222.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of LECO opened at $279.56 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $265.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid 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 1.1%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 31.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company's portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source