Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Given "Buy (B-)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric's stock received a "Buy (B-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating positive sentiment among analysts despite varying ratings from other research firms.
• The company reported a 2Q earnings per share of $2.60, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.32 and achieving 6.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider activity showed significant share sales, with executives decreasing their ownership by 13.53% and 19.62%, prompting interest in potential future stock performance.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

LECO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.33.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $241.95 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $240.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $249.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. 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. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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